After all these years Book Four
by Are you calling me crazy
Summary: Unfortunately for Levina, her life was never normal, being a well-known witch. But When the Triwizard Tournament comes to Hogwarts and Harry is enlisted into it by an unknown source, things just become ten times worse. New dangers arise and Levina can't help but fear for the life of the Boy with the Lightning Bolt Scar.
1. The return of Levina Snowpetal

**Welcome back!**

**Thanks to all who reviewed my last book, "After All These Years Book Three."**

**Disclaimer: If I was ****JK**** Rowling, I don't think I'd be on ****Fanfiction typing stories about a book**** I already made. So...I'm not:)**

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Levina SnowPetal awoke with a start, hitting her head on her desk lamp. From somewhere downstairs, there had been a loud _THUNK!_

Athena, her spectacled owl, hooted irritably and flapped her wings rapidly.

Levina sat upright; she'd fallen asleep at her desk reading _Werewolves: The Legend _for the fourth time. Sirius Black had sent it by mail.

She examined herself hastily in the mirror on the wall to find that she'd smeared ink across her cheek.

Levina had changed quite a bit since the previous year; her dark brown hair had gotten longer, she'd grown at least an inch or two, and her figure had changed slightly. She was glad to see, however, that her canine teeth hadn't gotten any longer since the incident with Professor Lupin.

"Can you shut that thing up?" Anna had appeared in the doorway, glaring at Athena.

"Can you shut _that _thing up?" Levina retorted, gesturing to Anna's mouth.

"Is the fireplace broken again?" Anna asked, as though she hadn't heard her. "I heard something in the living room..."

Levina checked her watch. "Crap! It's almost six o'clock!"

"Oh, great," muttered Anna. "Does that mean your kind are coming to pick you up?"

Levina glared at her. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

At that moment, there was another loud noise from downstairs.

Anna backed out of her room and disappeared from sight.

"All right, Athena, come on," said Levina, grabbing up her luggage and snapping her suitcase shut. "Where's Lily?"

Lilypad, her sleek black cat, crawled out from under her dark blue bed and stretched.

"Come on, I know you don't like your carrier," said Levina, coaxing Lilypad into her cage, "but I'll let you out when we get there."

Levina wiped her cheek clear of the ink she'd smeared on it and smoothed down her shirt, tying her hair in a hasty ponytail. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear and stared into her own dark brown eyes. The elegant blue necklace was tied around her neck, protecting her from letting her emotions get too high. She had a feeling it wasn't doing much to help, though.

Heading downstairs, Levina hastily glanced at the door. Ron was supposed to be picking her up any minute now for the Quidditch World Cup.

Edmund was kneeling by the fireplace, examining it with a curious look.

"Edmund?" said Levina; ever since she found out they weren't related, she just called him by his first name.

"Damn fireplace," he grunted. "Get me my toolbox, Levina."

But before Levina could move, there was a sudden BANG!

Levina jumped at least a foot in the air and turned to the fireplace to find Mr. Weasley, dressed in green robes.

"Ah, Levina," he greeted casually.

"Uh," said Levina.

"How are you? Sorry I'm late, had an issue at Harry's house-"

BANG.

Anna, who'd crept into the room curiously, shrieked loudly. Ron appeared from out of the dust and coughed several times.

"Hi, Levina!"

"Nice grand entrance," said Levina, grinning. She ran over and hugged him.

"And you must be Levina's guardians," said Mr. Weasley, crossing the room. Obviously Ron had told his family that Levina wasn't related to them.

Edmund, who was covered in black soot in the face, took a step back. Ashby, his wife, had entered the room and was standing behind him, petrified.

"Pleasure," said Mr. Weasley, unfazed by their reaction. He held out his hand, but no one took it.

BANG.

Fred and George emerged from the fireplace, laughing rather loudly about something as they staggered into the room.

"What the hell _is _all of this?" Edmund demanded angrily, taking another nervous step back with wide eyes.

"Fred, George, I told you to stay behind!" said Mr. Weasley angrily.

"Wanted to greet Levina ourselves," said George.

"Levina!" said Fred, crossing the room and pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Hi, Fred!" said Levina, feeling her cheeks burn; Fred had gotten slightly taller, but his height still matched his twin brother, George.

"It's great to see you!" said Levina, hugging George next.

"Did you grow an inch?" demanded Fred, holding one hand above her head.

"Still shorter than us," added George.

Mr. Weasley appeared to have given up on talking to Edmund and Ashby. "Are you ready to go?" he asked Levina.

"Yeah, let me get my stuff-"

"I've got this," said Fred, picking up her larger suitcase and her cage with Lilypad.

"This one's mine," said George, lifting up her other suitcase and Artemis's cage.

"I can take this," said Levina to Ron as he reached down to pick up her last bag. "It seems like forever, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Are you excited for the Cup?"

"You know it!" said Levina, grinning.

"Is that Anna?" said Fred; Anna had gotten slightly closer, but she was still hiding half of herself behind the kitchen door.

"Yup," said Levina.

"Don't be too cruel to Levina!" he hollered to her. "I know where you lot live now!"

Anna went pale.

"Stop it, Fred," said Mr. Weasley. "Sorry to barge in like this, we're on a tight schedule."

Edmund and Ashby remained silent, and Ashby backed up again, her bony fingers clutching Edmund's shoulder in terror.

"Well, best be going then...Aren't you going to say goodbye?" he added to Edmund and Ashby.

"That's ok," said Levina.

But Edmund, who's eyes kept fleeting over to Mr. Weasley's wand with fear, muttered quickly, "Bye."

"Meh," said Levina, and she stepped into the fire. "The Burrow!"

The moment the living room was gone, she found herself stepping into the home of the Weasleys. It was incredible, lined with different magic objects. There was even a clock with the Weasleys on it, reading where they were.

"Blimey," she whispered, stumbling into the room and staring around. Before she could put her bag down, someone grabbed her into a hug.

"Levina!" Harry Potter had appeared next to her, his black bangs hanging over his glasses.

"Harry!" Levina hugged him back. "It's been so long!"

"Yeah, it's great to see you! How are you?"

"Brilliant, you-?"

Fred, George, Ron, and Mr. Weasley leapt from the fire one after the other.

"Now then, where were we?" said Mr. Weasley, turning to the twins. "What on earth did you give that poor Muggle boy?"

"It was Ton-Tongue Toffee, but I didn't give it to him," said Fred, grinning evilly. "I accidently _dropped _it...It was his fault he went and ate it, I never told him to."

"What?" said Levina, pulling away from Harry.

"You dropped it on purpose!" roared Mr. Weasley. "You knew he'd eat it, you knew he was on a diet-"

"Who?" said Levina.

"My cousin," said Harry, who was also grinning. Levina broke into a fit of laughter.

"How big did it get?" said George eagerly.

"It was four feet before his parents would let me shrink it!"

Levina, Harry, and the Weasleys roared with laughter.

"It _isn't funny!"_

As they argued, Levina put down her bag and let Lilypad out of her cage, placing her on the rug.

"You wait until I tell your mother-"

"Tell me what?"

Mrs. Weasley had just entered the kitchen.

"Oh, hello, Harry, dear, Levina," she said, spotting them and smiling. Then her eyes snapped back to her husband. "Tell me _what, _Arthur?"

Mr. Weasley hesitated.

"It's nothing, Molly," he mumbled. "Fred and George just-but I've had words with them-"

"What have you done this time? If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes-"

"Why don't you show Harry and Levina where they're sleeping, Ron?" said a voice from the doorway. Hermione Granger was standing there, smiling.

"They know where they're sleeping-"

"We can all go," said Hermione pointedly.

"Oh," said Ron, catching on. "Right."

"Yeah, we'll come too-" said George.

"This way, Levina-" said Fred.

"_You stay where you are!" _snarled Mrs. Weasley.

"Hi, Hermione," said Levina happily, hugging her as well. "It's great to see you!"

"Same here!" said Hermione, smiling brightly. "Did you do something different with your hair?"

"Yeah," said Levina. "I decided instead of just hacking it off all the time, I'd give layers a try."

As they climbed the rickety, zigzagged staircase, Harry asked, "What are Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?"

Ron and Ginny, who'd appeared next to Levina, laughed.

"Mum found this stack of order forms when she was cleaning," said Ron quietly. "Great long price lists for stuff they've invented. Joke stuff, you know. Fake wands and trick sweets, loads of stuff. It was brilliant, I never knew they'd been inventing all that..."

"We've been hearing explosions out of their room for ages," said Ginny, "but we never really thought they were actually _making _things."

"Only most of the stuff-all of it, really-is dangerous. Mum burned all their order forms."

"Aw, that's a shame- I would have bought a few things," said Levina cheerfully.

Just then a door on the second landing opened, and a face poked out wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a very annoyed expression.

"Hi, Percy," said Harry and Levina.

"Oh, hello, Harry, Levina," said Percy. "I was wondering who was making all the noise. I'm trying to work in here, y'know-it's rather difficult to concentrate with people thundering up the stairs."

"We're not _thundering," _said Ron, "we're walking. Sorry if we've disturbed the top-secret workings of the Ministry of Magic."

"What are you working on?" said Harry.

"Cauldron leaks," Ron clarified as Percy made a very complicated wording of his project. "Front page of the Daily Prophet, i expect."

Percy's face flushed pink.

"You might sneer, Ron, but unless some sort of international law is imposed we might well find the market flooded with flimsy, shallow-bottomed products that seriously endanger-"

"Yeah, yeah, all right," said Ron, continuing up the stairs. Percy slammed his bedroom door shut.

"_He's _a cauldron bottom," said Levina, and they all went into hysterics again.

Inside Ron's room, Levina glanced around at the posters and examined his fish tank with a rather large frog in it. Scabbers was here no more, but the grey owl from Sirius Black remained.

"Where's Crookshanks?"

"Out in the garden, I expect," said Hermione. "He likes gnomes. He's never seen them before."

"I bet Lilypad would like that," said Levina, placing Athena's cage on the floor.

"Did you get your birthday presents?" said Hermione nervously to Levina.

"Yeah, I've re-read _The Werewolf within _at least fifty times!"

They had decided the best time for Levina's birthday was when they weren't at Hogwarts. Levina had receivedseveral new books on werewolves and a new quill from Hermione, assorted jokes and candies from Fred and George, a t-shirt with a black cat on it and blue slippers from Ron, and a broom-cleaning set and book on Beaters from Harry. She'd also gotten food from them and Mrs. Weasley, consisting of cakes and her favorite dishes. Hagrid had sent her rock cakes, but she'd decided against them after nearly cracking a tooth.

"Percy's enjoying work, then?" said Harry from behind Levina.

"Enjoying it?" said Ron darkly. "I don't reckon he'd come home if Dad didn't make him. He's obsessed. Shut _up, _Pig!"

"Pig?" said Levina. She realized he was talking to the tiny owl in the corner, which was hooting wildly. It was the same on Sirius Black had sent him.

"Er-why are you calling that owl Pig?" said Harry.

"Because he's being stupid," said Ginny. "His proper name is Pigwidgeon."

"Yeah, and that's not a stupid name at all," said Ron sarcastically. "Ginny named him," he explained to Harry and Levina. "She reckons its sweet. And I tried to change it, but it was too late, he won't answer to anything else now."

"How was your summer, Ginny?" said Levina, dropping onto Ron's bed.

"You mean besides all the commotion between Mum and Fred and George? Pretty good."

"Hey, Levina, do you mind staying in here with us?" said Ron. "There's not enough room with Ginny, but you can sleep on the floor with Fred, George, and Harry..."

"Of course," said Levina. "As many times as the teachers at Hogwarts have called me a 'boy', I don't see a problem in staying with you lot."

"I think they've stopped arguing," said Hermione. "Shall we go down and help your mum with dinner?"

"Yeah, all right," said Ron.

They headed back downstairs to find Mrs. Weasley alone in the kitchen, looking extremely bad-tempered.

"We're eating out in the garden," she said when they came in. "There's just not room for twelve people in here. Could you take the plates outside, girls? Bill and Charlie are setting up the tables."

Levina lifted up a stack of plates and carried them out beside Hermione and Ginny. Outside, Crookshanks was pelting after what loked like a muddy potato on legs, which was apparently a gnome.

Lilypad bolted past Levina's feet, nearly knocking her over and sending the plates flying as she tore after a second gnome.

"Lily!" said Levina angrily, stumbling slightly.

When they reached the other side of the house, they found Bill and Charlie levitating two battered old tables and high above them on the lawn, smashing them into each other and attempting to knock each other's table over.

"Honestly!" said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

"Who are you rooting for?" Levina asked Ginny.

"Charlie, he helped me with some of my housework."

"Oy, Levina, go for Bill!" called Fred, who was standing beside George and cheering.

"I'm staying neutral!" she hollered back.

Harry and Ron appeared around the corner and looked up at the battling tables for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Bill's table caught Charlie's with a huge bang and knocked one of its legs off. There was a clatter from overhead, and they all looked up to see Percy's head poking out of a window on the second floor.

"Will you keep it down!" he bellowed.

"Sorry, Perce," said Bill, grinning. "How're the cauldron bottoms coming on?"

"Very badly," said Percy peevishly, and he slammed the window shut. Chuckling, Bill and Charlie directed the tables safely onto the grass, end to end, and Bill reattatched the table leg.

"Have we met?" said Charlie suddenly, coming up to Levina with Bill following behind him.

"No," said Levina, holding out her hand. "I'm Levina."

"Charlie," he answered. "Pleasure."

"I'm Bill," said Bill, coming over and shaking her hand as well. "I'd say I won that round, Charlie."

By seven o'clock, the two tables were groaning under the dishes and dishes of Mrs. Weasley's excellent cooking, and the nine Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and Levinawere settling themselves down to eat beneath a clear, deep-blue sky.

To someone who had been living off of stale cakes from Ron and Hermione, this was paradise, and Levina stuffed herself with as much chicken and ham pie, boiled potatoes, and salad as she could reach.

"What are the Quidditch Cups like?" asked Levina through a gulp of water.

"Brilliant," said Fred. "Everyone gets so into them."

"We've got really good seats, too," added George.

"How've things been with the Muggles?" said Fred as he shoveled potatoes into his mouth.

"Terrible," said Levina. "I've been wearing my necklace all summer, but I swear I've broken more things around the kitchen than possible..."

Levina didn't mind sharing things openly with the Weasley's about her 'condition'; she'd let Fred and George tell the rest of their family.

"What, you just started shooting at things?" said George.

Levina frowned. "No," she answered. "When I got upset, things just kind of blew up on their own. One cup almost hit Anna flying off the wall."

"Thath bodd," said Ron through a mouthful of chicken.

"Can you repeat that?" said Levina.

Ron swallowed. "I said, that's odd."

"How?"

"Yeah," said Harry, "I once blew up a champagne glass my aunt was holding, remember?"

"Well, someone would normally have to _really _tick you off-" said Ron.

"I _know _I have anger issues," Levina muttered, taking another sip of water. "I believe we already established that."

Ron laughed. "That's not what I meant."

"And the Ministry didn't catch you?" demanded Hermione, who's eyebrows had raised.

"Why should they?" said Levina.

"Because you're not allowed to do magic outside of school!"

"It's not like I'm really doing it on purpose," said Levina.

At the end of dinner, they all had homemade strawberry icecream and sat watching Crookshanks and Lilypad chase gnomes about the garden.

"Give me a list of your supplies, will you, Levina?" said Mrs. Weasley. "I'll get your stuff at Diagon Alley. You too, Harry, dear."

Levina went up to Ron's room that night and curled up on a sleeping bag on the floor next to Harry. Fred dropped down next to her, yawning, and George found a spot next to Harry.

"Hey, Levina," Fred whispered as the lights went out, "If you want, I can bring some coconut ice to the game tomorrow."

Levina's eyes brightened. "How'd you know that was my favorite candy?'

"I'm psychic," said Fred.

"Are you sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I bought it every time we went to Hogsmeade last year?"

"'Course not."

* * *

Levina felt as though she'd just lain down before she awoke with a start that morning. It was still dark out, but Levina could hear Mrs. Weasley moving around in the kitchen downstairs. She groaned at the thought of getting up off her nice, warm sleeping bag.

Come to think of it, she was actually really warm, and comfortable, for sleeping on a hard floor. She wanted to go back to sleep, to return to her dreams-

Suddenly, as she shifted to pull the covers up higher, she realized why she was so warm: someone was lying directly against her.

Fred had rolled onto her sleeping bag in the night and was now curled up close to her, his arm lazily draped over her shoulder.

"Fred?" she whispered. Hoping to play it off as no big deal, she added, "Fred, go back to your own side, you big lummox."

But Fred was sound asleep.

Levina could feel her face burning red up to her ears. Unable to move without waking him up, she felt wide awake now, and didn't mind if Mrs. Weasley came in.

The door opened right on cue. "Up and at 'em!" Mrs. Weasley announced.

_Ok, scratch that, _Levina thought. _Let me sleep._

"Time to go, Harry, dear," she whispered, giving Harry a shake on the shoulder. She then did the same to Ron and then turned to Levina.

"Oh, for heavens sake, Fred!" she gave Fred a shove and he jolted awake. "You're smothering Levina!"

Groggily, Fred stirred and yawned. "Wha'? 'S time already?"

He got up and the warmth left, leaving Levina shivering. She hastily stood up to get dressed.

"Thanks for suffocating me," she grumbled.

"Do what?" he asked sleepily; apparently he hadn't noticed he'd moved during the night.

"Did you not see that you practically rolled onto me, you doofus?" said Levina playfully.

"I did?" Fred looked confused. "Sorry, then."

"That's all right," said Levina, and she went into the bathroom to get dressed. Pulling on a tank top and a ratty pair of jeans, she tied her hair in a quick but decent ponytail and topped it with a baseball cap.

When they headed down to the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley was stirring the contents of a large pot on the stove. Mr. Weasley was sitting at the table, checking a sheaf of large parchment tickets. He looked up as they entered and spread his arms so they could see his clothes clearly. He was wearing a golfing sweater and a very old pair of jeans, held up by a belt.

"What d'you think?" he said anxiously. "We're supposed to go incognito-d'you think I look like a Muggle, Harry? Levina?"

"Yeah," said Harry, smiling, "very good."

"You'll fit right in," added Levina, grinning as she took a seat next to Harry.

"Where're Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?" said George, failing to stifle a yawn.

"Well, they're Apparating, aren't they?" said Mrs. Weasley, heaving the pot onto the table and ladling porridge into their bowls. "So they can have a bit of a lie-in."

"So they're still in bed?" said Fred grumpily, pulling his bowl of porridge toward him. "Why can't we Apparate too?"

"Because you're not of age and you haven't passed your test," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "And where have those girls got to? Levina, will you help me get them up?"

"Sure," said Levina. They climbed up the stairs and into Ginny's bedroom, which was indeed pretty cramped with stuff, and Levina gave Hermione a shake on the shoulder.

"Morning?" said Hermione with a wide yawn. Her hair was messed up and she had rings under her eyes.

"I need more sleep!" protested Ginny, pulling her pillow over her head.

"Yeah? Well, at least you weren't smooshed by your brother!"

"Who?" said Ginny. "Fred, or George? They're both pretty active sleepers."

"Fred."

"Not surprising," said Ginny, attempting to pull the covers up as Mrs. Weasley tugged them away.

"Really now!" said Mrs. Weasley. "Your breakfast will get cold, girls. Come on, get up!"

The two of them groaned, sat up, and went to go change. Levina sat down on the bed, where a loud hiss erupted. She jumped, startled, to find Lilypad lying there, looking irritated.

"Did you sleep in here?" said Levina, scooping up the sleek black cat. "Traitor, you always sleep with me!"

Lilypad merely hissed again and licked her paw.

Once Hermione and Ginny were dressed, they headed back downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" said Ginny drowsily.

"We've got a bit of a walk," said Mr. Weasley.

"Walk?" said Harry as Levina sat back down beside him. "What, are we walking to the World Cup?"

"No, no, that's miles away," said Mr. Weasley, smiling. "We only need to walk a short way. It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting Muggle attention. We have to be very careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup—"

"George!" said Mrs. Weasley sharply, and they all jumped.

"What?" said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.

"What is that in your pocket?"

"Nothing!"

"Don't lie to me!"

Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket and said, "_Accio!"_

Several small, brightly colored objects zoomed out of George's pocket; he made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into Mrs. Weasley's outstretched hand.

"We told you to destroy them!" said Mrs. Weasley furiously. "We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"

Levina frowned at them sympathetically as Mrs. Weasley used a Summoning charm to collect all of them from the twins.

"We spent six months developing those!" Fred shouted at his mother as she threw the toffees away.

"Oh, a fine way to spend six months!" she shrieked. "No wonder you didn't get more OWLs!"

All in all, the atmosphere was not very friendly as they left the house. As they left, Fred and George were very quiet and didn't say a word to their mother.

Levina headed out into the dark yard, wishing she'd gotten more sleep, and followed next to Hermione and Ron. It was chilly and the moon was still out; Levina was thankful to have brought a jacket over her tank top.

"It's nice out," she commented; Ron replied with merely a grunt.

Harry, who was the only other one wide awake, had gone up to the front to talk to Mr. Weasley, who was chatting with him enthusiastically, saying something about a 'Portkey.'

"What's a 'Portkey', Ron?" Levina asked.

"It's how we get to the game," said Ron sleepily, "without making Muggles suspicious."

"Oh, cool," said Levina. She shrugged her jacket on closer and continued walking, staring up at the moon, which made her think of Lupin. She wondered what he was doing now, seeing as he was no longer their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Maybe she'd send him a letter at school.

They trudged down the dark, dank lane toward the village, the silence broken only by their footsteps. The sky lightened very slowly as they made their way through the village, its inky blackness diluting to deepest blue. Levina's hands and feet were freezing and Mr. Weasley kept checking his watch.

No one had the breath to talk as they headed up Stoatshead Hill, stumbling occasionally in hidden rabbit holes. Each breath Levina took in was sharp and painful and a stitch was forming in her side.

"Whew," panted Mr. Weasley, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his sweater. "Well, we've made good time—we've got ten minutes…."

Levina helped up Hermione, who was panting and clutching her side.

"Now we just need the Portkey," said Mr. Weasley, replacing his glasses. "It won't be big….Come on…."

They spread out, searching. Levina wasn't exactly sure of what she was looking for, so it made things very difficult.

"Over here, Arthur!" Over here, son, we've got it!" A voice came from nearby.

Two tall figures were silhouetted against the starry sky on the other side of the hilltop.

"Amos!" said Mr. Weasley, smiling as he strode over to the man who had shouted. The rest of them followed.

Mr. Weasley was shaking hands with a ruddy-faced wizard with a scrubby brown beard, who was holding a moldy-looking old boot in his other hand.

"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," said Mr. Weasley. "He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"

"Hi," said Cedric Diggory.

Everybody said hi back except for Fred and George, who merely nodded. They had never quite forgiven Cedric for beating their team, Gryffindor, in their first Quidditch match of the previous year.

"Long walk, Arthur?" Cedric's father asked.

"Not too bad," said Mr. Weasley. "We just live on the other side of the village there. You?"

"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparation test. Still…not complaining…Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sack full of Galleons—and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy….All these yours, Arthur?" he asked, peering god-naturedly around at all of them.

"Oh no, only the redheads," said Mr. Weasley, pointing out his children. "This is Hermione, friend of Ron's—and Harry and Levina, more friends—"

"Merlin's beard," said Amos Diggory, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry _Potter? _And…is that Levina Snowpetal?"

"Er—yeah," said Harry.

"Yup," said Levina.

"Ced's talked about you, of course. Told us all about playing against you last year….I said to him, I said—Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will…._You beat Harry Potter!"_

Levina's eyes narrowed and Fred and George scowled again.

"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," he muttered. "I told you…it was an accident…."

"Yes, but _you _didn't fall off, did you? Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman…but the best man won, I'm sure Harry'd say the same, wouldn't you, eh? One falls of his broom, one stays on, you don't need to be a genius to tell which one's the better flier!"

"There were dementors!" Levina snarled, cutting him off. "Don't you think Cedric would have fallen to, had a dementor tried to suck out his soul-?"

"Ah, Levina, yes?" said Amos, unfazed by her outburst. "A Beater, right? On Gryffindor? That's my Ced, that is, beating both Harry Potter and Levina Snowpetal in the same game!"

Levina could feel a growl forming in her throat, and Cedric looked very embarrassed.

"Must be nearly time," said Mr. Weasley quickly, pulling out his watch again. "Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos?"

"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets," said Mr. Diggory. "There aren't any more of us in this area, are there?"

"Not that I know of," said Mr. Weasley. "Yes, it's a minute off….We'd better get ready…."

He looked at Harry, Hermione, and Levina.

"You just need to touch the Portkey, that's all, a finger will do—"

The ten of them crowded around the old boot with difficulty.

"Three…two…one," muttered Mr. Weasley, one eye still on his watch.

Levina felt a sudden incredible jerk forward and her feet left the ground. Levina's index finger seemed stuck to the boot, as though it were magnetically pulling her onward and then—

Levina's feet slammed into the ground and she dropped like a rock. The adults and Cedric were still standing, looking windswept, but everyone else had fallen.

"Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill," said a voice.

* * *

**So, how was the first chapter? Sorry if it was a bit short.**

**Things to come: The Quidditch World Cup, of course, Veela, and more.**

**Yet again, thanks to all who reviewed my previous story! **


	2. The Quidditch World Cup!

**Hey, guys. Sorry for the huge delay, I've had a lot of work to do and school's been stressful. Xp**

**Flyingwerecats: Haha, yeah, I move a lot in my sleep, too! And it always annoyed me when Mr. Diggory would boast about his son like that. Anyways, thanks :)**

**Savvygirl101LunaRachel: Yes, I love Fred, too, he's so cute! Yeah, it **_**would **_**be bad if Malfoy ticked her off to the point of explosion. And really? Great! Maybe the Hillywood Show won't be too upset with me than (Even if I did put a disclaimer) for using their videos in my video, now that I've gotten you to be a fan of them :) And yeah, their work is really, REALLY brilliant!**

**Silvermoony77: I can't wait for the Yule Ball! It's probably my favorite thing in Book Four. Yeah, Levina and her Guardians don't get on that well, but yes, you are correct in detecting a hint of Levina/Fred :)**

**Disclaimer: Hello, I'm Harry Potter. Yes, the Chosen One, the Boy who lived, Undesirable Number One, whatever you want to call me. The author came up with none of those names; JK Rowling owns me, so obviously, the author does not.**

**

* * *

**

"Morning, Basil," said Mr. Weasley.

They had arrived on what appeared to be a deserted moor. In front of them was a pair fo tired and grumpy-looking wizards, one of whom was holding a large gold watch. Both were dressed as Muggles, though inexpertly.

"Hello there, Arthur," said the man in a kilt. "Not on duty, eh? It's all right for some...We've been here all night...You'd better get out of the way, we've got a big party coming in from the Black Forest at five-fifteen. Hang on, I'll find your camspite...Weasley..." He constulted his parchment list. "About a quarter of a mile's walk over there, first field you come to."

"Thanks, Basil," said Mr. Weasley, and he beckoned them to follow.

Levina got to her feet, wide-awake now after the fall, and stumbled back into the group.

They checked in with a Muggle at the front, who was soon Obliviated by a wizard when he started questioning them, and they headed into the campsite.

"Couldn't have a better spot!" said Mr. Weasley. "Levina, will you give me a hand with the tents? You too, Harry."

Levina grinned and she and Harry lifted up the poles and pegs, Mr. Weasley using the mallet. Levina had never been camping before; Edmund had taken Anna camping before, but she always returned home wailing about bug-bites and lack of televisions.

"Is this where this goes?" Levina asked Harry, staring at a hunk of metal critically.

"I think," said Harry with a shrug. "I've never gone camping before."

"Me either!" said Levina.

Levina helped set up a pair of two-men tents on the grass, but she looked at them critically when they'd finished.

"Um," she said, looking at Hermione and Harry quizically. "How are we going to fit...?"

But Mr. Weasley dropped onto his hands and knees and slid in, so Levina followed in kind. Once she was inside, however, her jaw dropped.

She had walked into what appeared to be an old-fashioned three-room flat, complete with a bathroom and kitchen.

Levina stared, bewildered, and dropped her bag. "Wow," was all she could manage.

"I borrowed this from Perkins at the office," said Mr. Weasley. "Doesn't camp much anymore, poor fellow, he's got lumbago."

He picked up the kettle and peered inside it. "We'll need water..."

"We're staying in this one," said Hermione, bringing Levina into the girl's tent for a quick look. Levina put her bag down in the corner of the bedroom and followed Hermione back out.

"We're getting water," said Ron, who was ducking out of the boy's tent with Harry. "Want to come?"

"Sure," said Hermione.

"Nah, I'm going to look around the tents some more," said Levina. She crawled back into the boy's tent, where Mr. Weasley was attempting to light a fire with matches.

"Do you want some help?" she asked.

"Oh, no, I'm all right," said Mr. Weasley; he had a cheerful expression on his face. "Oops!" he exclaimed, dropping the match as it went out.

"Coconut ice, Levina," tempted Fred from the kitchen. He and George were sitting on chairs, taking out boxes of candies.

"Oooh!" said Levina. She hopped onto one of the chairs and took a shimmering pink chunk. "So when's the game start?"

"Soon enough," said George, "we're not sure exactly when, though."

"I've never seen any sports except for on television," said Levina with a wistful look. "I liked watching Hockey the most."

"You'll love the Cup," said Fred, reaching for a jellybean.

They chatted back and forth for a while until Ron, Hermione, and Harry returned with the water and they started on lunch, which was eggs and sausages. Percy, Bill, and Charlie arrived soon there after and joined them for lunch, well-rested and awake.

"Hey, Levina, I have an idea," said Ginny when they were half-way done with lunch. Levina had already finished hers and was clearing her plate.

"What?"

"Come to the girls tent, I have some paint..."

They returned into the tent and strolled into the bathroom, where Ginny took out a box of assorted paint colors.

"Here, let me see your cheek," said Ginny, turning Levina at an angle as she held up a paintbrush.

"What're you putting on it?"

"Something Irish, of course," said Ginny brightly. She painted a green shamrock onto Levina's cheek and then painted one onto her own, examining them in the mirror.

"That's really pretty," said Levina, cocking her head back and forth to look at it. "You should be an artist."

"Thanks," said Ginny. "Now come here, I have some clothes for us, too! And Hermione, when she's done with lunch."

Ginny pulled out several green tops and skirts and passed them to Levina, picking up some for herself as well.

"This one's cute," Levina commented; she took out a green tank top that read in white letters, "Kiss me, I support Ireland."

"I like that one, too!" said Ginny happily. "I'm wearing the same."

"I'm not really into skirts, but can I see that green belt?"

"Sure, sure," said Ginny. "Aren't all of these just adorable? We should get some rosettes from the stands and then we'll be ready to go! Let me get Hermione..."

Levina changed into the tank top and adjusted the belt around her waist. Looking up at her blue baseball cap, she wished it was green so she could take it with her-

Suddenly, as though by some sort of magic (Levina slapped herself upside the head for that idiotic thought, the cap changed color so that it was a dark green.

Ginny had returned with Hermione. "You know a color-changing spell?" she demanded. "You'll have to teach me!"

"I wasn't aware that I did," said Levina, taking off her cap and staring at it.

"Color-changing spells are not very common or well-known," said Hermione, eyeing her suspiciously as though she'd done something wrong.

"All I did was want it to be green and it was..."

"Here, try it on that bed," said Ginny.

Levina stared at the burgundy bed and concentrated hard, but nothing happened.

"Told you it's difficult," said Hermione. "But how did you do it without saying anything?"

"I dunno," said Levina, still staring at her hat. She wondered if this ability was part of the 'power' Voldemort had wanted from her. She shivered.

"I'll try again later," said Levina. "In the meantime, let's go back to the boy's tent."

When they returned, they found that there was a man sitting there on the grass with blond hair, blue eyes, and a yellow-and-black striped shirt.

"Ah, Levina, Ginny!" called Mr. Weasley. "This is Ludo Bagman, the man we have to thank for the tickets. Ludo, this is my daughter Ginny, you already met Hermione, and this is their friend Levina Snowpetal."

Mr. Bagman looked at Levina with sudden interest, his eyes widening, but he didn't say anything.

"Uh, hi," said Levina.

Just then, a man Apparated right beside the fire. He wore a crisp suit and tie. His gray hair was unnaturally straight and his shoes were darkly polished.

"Oh-talk of the devil! Barty!" said Mr. Bagman. Apparently they'd been talking about him.

The man looked very stuck-up and well groomed, wearing a crisp suit and tie. He had overly-shined shoes and unnaturally straight gray hair.

"Pull up a bit of grass, Barty," said Ludo brightly, patting the ground beside him.

"No thank you, Ludo," said Crouch, and there was a bit of impatience in his voice. "I've been looking everywhere for you. The Bulgarians are insisting we add another twelve seats to the Top Box."

"Oh is _that _what they're after?" said Bagman. "I thought the chap was asking to borrow a pair of tweezers. Bit of a strong accent."

"Hey, Levina, do you have an extra hair brush?" said Hermione from inside the guy's tent.

"Oh, sure," said Levina, climbing back inside. Once she was in, Hermione pulled her aside.

"I really just wanted to ask," said Hermione quietly, hastily looking at the tent door, "has your...'condition' been bothering you? You've seemed all right, but-"

"I'm fine," said Levina. She gestured to her necklace. "Still working, I presume."

"I just mean that you might want to watch out for the signs you read in the book," said Hermione. "Such as-"

"Golden eyes, longer canine teeth, etc," said Levina. "Honestly, Hermione, you need to calm down."

Hermione sighed. "I'm saying this because it would be bad if you suddenly changed in front of everyone in the stadium-"

"It'll be _fine," _Levina insisted, rolling her eyes. Hermione worried too much.

By dusk, salesmen were Apparating every few feet, carrying trays and pushing carts full of extraordinary merchandise. There were green colors on some and red on others, for Ireland and Bulgaria.

Levina bought a green rosette, a tiny model of a Firebolt, and a green choker that she clipped around her neck.

"Been saving my pocket money all summer for this," Ron told Levina and Harry as they strolled through the salesmen. Ron had purchased a dancing shamrock hat, a large green rosette, and a small figure of one of the players.

"Who's that?" said Levina, taking it in her palm.

Ron's jaw dropped. "Only the best Seeker of all time! Viktor Krum, Levina, blimey! Where have you been? He plays for Bulgaria."

"Well, _sorry _for being born in a Muggle family," retorted Levina.

"Wow, look at these!" said Harry, holding up what appeared to be binoculars with many weird knobs and dials.

"Omnioculars," said the saleswizard eagerly. "You can replay action...slow everything down...and they flash up a play-by-play breakdown if you need it. Bargain-ten Galleons each."

"Wish I hadn't bought this now," said Ron, gesturing at his dancing shamrock hat.

"Four pairs," said Harry firmly to the wizard.

"No, Harry, I have money-" Levina insisted.

"I don't care-"

"No-don't bother," said Ron, going red in the face. He'd always been touchy about the fact that Harry and Levina had inherited a small fortune from their parents and had much more money than he did.

"You won't be getting anything for Christmas," Harry told him. "For about ten years, mind."

"Fair enough," said Ron, grinning.

Back at the tents, everyone but Fred and George were decked out in green attire. Levina passed the twins each a rosette, insisting on them taking it.

"Nice tank," Fred commented. "Might have to take you up on that offer," he joked.

Levina took a moment to register what her shirt said; she looked down and remembered that it read: "Kiss me, I support Ireland." She felt her face go red and laughed weakly.

"It's time!" said Mr. Weasley. "Come on, let's go!"

The stadium was _enormous. _Levina found herself staring up at it with a jaw-dropped, comical expresion. They clambered up the rich purple stairs and to the Top Box, which was set at the highest point of the stadium. About twenty purple-and-gilt chairs stoof in two rows there, and Levina dropped in next to Hermione and Harry.

Below, there was a smooth field, three goal hoops on either side of the stadium, and a gigantic blackboard that advertised various products.

"Brilliant," Levina whispered, staring at the sign that was now reading, _"Bertti Botts Every Flavor Beans-A risk with every mouthful!"_

"Told you," said Fred from two seats down.

"_Dobby?"_

Levina turned to see Harry staring at a creature behind them. It was wearing a tea towel draped like a toga and batlike ears, shielding its face with its hands.

The tiny creature looked up and Levina realized it wasn't Dobby; this elf had brown eyes and a nose the shape of a large tomato.

"Did sir just call me Dobby?" squeaked the elf curiously in an incredibly high voice. It was hard to tell with elves, but Levina decided this one might just be female.

"Sorry," Harry told the elf, "I just thought you were someone I knew."

"But I knows Dobby too, sir!" squeaked the elf, still covering her face slightly. "My name is Winky, sir-and you, sir-You is surely Harry Potter!"

"Yeah, I am," said Harry,"

"But Dobby talks of you all the time, sir!"

"Has he ever mentioned me?" asked Levina curiously. "Levina? SnowPetal?"

The elf's eyes, if possible, grew wider.

"Yes, miss, Dobby has mentioned Levina many of times before!"

"How is he?" said Harry. "How's freedom suiting him?"

"Ah, sir, meaning no disrespect, sir, but I is not sure you did Dobby a favor, sir, when you is setting him free."

"Why?" said Harry, taken aback. "What's wrong with him?"

"Freedom is going to Dobby's head, sir. Ideas above his station, sir. Can't get another position, sir."

"Why not?" said Harry.

"_He is wanting paying for his work, sir."_

Levina stared at the elf. "So?"

"Well-why shouldn't he be paid?" said Harry.

"House-Elves is not paid, sir! No, no, no, I says to Dobby. Go find yourself a nice family and settled down, Dobby. He is getting up to all sorts of high jinks, sir, what is unbecoming to a house elf. Next thing I hears you's, I says, up in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, like some common goblin."

"Well, it's about time he had a bit of fun," said Harry.

"House-elves is not supposed to have fun, Harry Potter. House-elves does what they is told. I is not liking heights at all Harry Potter, but my master sent me to the Top Box and I comes, sir."

"That's mad," said Levina.

"Why's he sent you up here, if he knows you don't like heights?"

"Master-master wants me to save him a seat, Harry Potter. He is very busy. Winky is wishing she is back in master's tent, Harry Potter, but Winky does what she is told. Winky is a good house elf."

And she glanced over the edge of the Top Box and hastily hid her face again with her hands.

"So that's a house-elf?" Ron muttered. "Weird things, aren't they?"

"Dobby was weirder," said Harry.

"_Beyond _weird," said Levina.

When Fudge and the Bulgarian minister arrived, Levina ducked away from sight as Fudge introduced Harry, who was greeted with several gasps and points at his scar.

"...Ah, I see his house-elf's saving him a seat," said Fudge, apparently not seeing Levina, who had her eyes locked onto her Omnioculars. "Ah, and here's Lucius!"

Levina nearly dropped them as she struggled to turn around in shock. The blonde-haired Draco Malfoy was edging his way to a seat with his father, Lucius Malfoy, and a woman Levina presumed to be his mother. Levina glared at him harshly.

"Good lord, Arthur," said Lucius softly. "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?"

But Fudge wasn't listening; he continued rambling about the 'generous' donations Lucius had given to St. Mundungo's Hospital.

"Hey, SnowWeed," the drawling voice of Draco Malfoy whispered, his grey eyes looking her up and down. "Did someone barf green all over you?"

Levina's eyes narrowed in irritation. "Hey, Malfoy. Did someone barf ugly all over your face?"

Draco's pale grey eyes glared into hers, but he didn't say anything as he settled into his seat. Smiling pleasantly towards Fudge, she turned back around.

"Ah, Levina Snowpetal! Yes, yes, you know who she is…the one with the power…You-Know-Who, and all that?"

The Bulgarian Minister gaped open-mouthed at her and she re-focused her Omnioculars around the stadium, zooming in on various people in the crowd.

"Ladies and gentleman...welcome!" boomed Ludo after using a spell to amplify his voice. "Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

Then spectators screamed and clapped. Levina leaned excitedly on the edge of her seat and watched as the advertisement board wiped clear to show BULGARIA: 0 IRELAND: 0

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce...the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"

"I wonder what they've brought," said Mr. Weasley"Aaah!" He suddenly whipped off his glasses and polished them hurriedly on his robes. "_Veela!"_

"What are Veela?" said Levina, but when she looked down, she saw them. A hundred Veela were gliding out onto the field. They were beautiful women, except they didn't look human. In fact, maybe they weren't, Levina thought. Their skin shone moon-bright and their gold hair fanned out behind them without wind.

The Veela then started to dance.

"You catching this on your Omnioculars, Harry-?" Levina asked, but Harry wasn't listening. "Harry?"

Harry's face had gone blank and he was staring open-mouthed at them.

Levina glanced around her to see if anyone else was behaving like this; Ron was holding his hat in his hands, absentmindedly shredding the shamrocks on it.

Fred and George had comically dreamy expressions on their faces and when Levina turned around, even Draco had a very off-look. He was staring, as though mesmerized, with a jaw-dropped look.

Levina rolled her eyes. "Hermione, do you believe this?"

"Boys," she muttered, shaking her head.

"They're all perverted ogres," added Ginny.

Suddenly, Harry stood up abruptly and they all jumped. He put his leg on the wall of the box with a determined look as though ready to jump.

"Harry, what the hell?" said Levina.

"Harry, what _are _you doing?" said Hermione.

The music stopped. Angrily yells filled the stadium and Levina and Hermione each grabbed one of Harry's legs and pulled him back into his seat.

"_Honestly!" _said Hermione.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Levina suggested. Harry held up his Omnioculars and Levina pulled them from his grip. "I was _joking_."

Next came the Ireland display, which consisted of green-and gold firework-like lights. Levina applauded cheerfully and watched the colors dance across the sky with a gleeful expression.

"Wow!" she gasped, as some sort of golden rain seemed to rain down from a giant shimmering shamrock.

"Excellent!" yelled Ron, grabbing for gold and stuffing a fistful of coins into Harry's hands. "There you go. For the Omnioculars! Now you've got to buy me a Christmas present, ha!"

Levina scooped up a handful and dropped them into her purse, catching several others in her hat. She squinted and realized that as the shamrock dissolved, it was actually just a bunch of leprechauns holding green or gold minute lamps.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome—the Bulgarian National Quidditch team! I give you—Dimitrov!"

A scarlet-clad figure on a broomstick blasted onto the field as the Bulgarian fans cheered loudly. As the rest of the team was introduced, Levina zoomed in on them with her Omnioculars to slow them down and get a good look.

"Aaaaaaaaand—_Krum!"_

"That's him, that's him!" yelled Ron.

Levina got a closer look at him; he was thin, dark, and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick eyebrows. It was hard to believe he was only eighteen.

"And now please greet—the Irish National Quidditch team!" yelled Bagman.

Levina spun a small dial on her Omnioculars that slowed down the green blurs as they were called and she could just barely make out the word, 'Firebolt' on their broomsticks.

"Theeeeeeey're off!" screamed Bagman. Levina focused back on the team and watched eagerly. It was like no other Quidditch match she'd played before, and the players were so fast she could hardly keep up.

The Beaters were very good, Levina noted. She watched them carefully, making a mental note of their movements in her head. Hopefully, if she remembered their skill, she could use some of it in the next match at Hogwarts.

"TROY SCORES!" roared Bagman. Levina turned away from the Beaters and cheered as Troy did a lap of honor around the field. She waved to him wildly with one hand, trying to zoom in while she did so.

"What?" Harry yelled. "But Levski's got the Quaffle!"

"What are you talking about?" said Levina.

"Harry, if you're not going to watch at normal speed, you're going to miss things!" shouted Hermione as she waved her arms in the air.

Volkov, one of the Beaters on the Bulgarian team, was very ferocious with the way he hit the Bludgers. Levina slowed him down and watched his wrist-movement with the club and the way he swung at it.

Suddenly, both Krum and Lynch plummeted after something. Levina searched wildly for the Snitch, which was their obvious target.

"They're going to crash!" screamed Hermione.

Viktor Krum, at the last second, pulled away and out of harm, but Lynch crashed to the ground.

"Oh no!" said Levina.

"Fool!" moaned Mr. Weasley. "Krum was feinting!"

"Time out!" cried Bagman.

"He'll be okay, he only ploughed," said Charlie to Ginny, who looked horrified.

"Nice strategy," said Fred, leaning forward for a better look.

"That looked painful," said Levina with a wince.

Finally Lynch got to his feet and the crowd cheered.

"Yes!" said Levina, clapping excitedly as she reviewed her Omnioculars and watched him crash over and over again.

Harry was watching with an incredibly eagerness as he watched them fly; she had a feeling he was picking up tips, too, from the Seekers.

"Penalty to Ireland!"

Levina looked up in time to see the leprechauns flying back out to form the words, "HA, HA, HA!"

The Veela got to their feet, tossed their hair angrily, and started dancing again.

"Look at the referee!" said Hermione, giggling.

"Oh, brother," Levina giggled as Mostafa, the referee, began flexing his muscles and smoothing his mustache beside the Veela.

A mediwizard flew down on their broom, fingers in their ears to block the sound, and kicked him hard in the shins. He seemed to come to himself, looked thoroughly embarrassed, and began shouting at the Veela.

The Bulgarian Beaters dropped down on either side of him and began arguing furiously, until he blew his whistle twice and Ludo Bagman announced two penalites to Ireland.

The leprechauns flew into the air again and this time formed a huge hand making a very rude hand gesture at the Veela. At this, the Veela lost control. They no longer looked pretty at all-in fact, they grew long bird-like beaks and scaly wings and began throwing fire at the leprechauns.

"This is mad!" said Levina as the Ministry wizards attempted to break them up without much success.

"This is Quidditch," said Fred, winking.

"MORAN SCORES!" shouted Bagman. Levina hastily re-placed her Omnioculars on her eyes and watched quicky, re-winding what she missed.

A sudden Bludger whacked directly into Krum and hit him full-on in the face, sending blood from his nose. The crowd groaned and Levina couldn't help but feel that the referee, who was trying to get fire off his broom from the Veela, should have been doing something, even though she was supporting Ireland.

"Time-out! Ah, come on, he can't play like that, look at him-" said Ron.

"_Look at Lynch!" _Harry yelled.

Levina re-focused her view just in time to catch Lynch doing a downward dive.

"The Snitch, the snitch!" said Levina excitedly. "Has he seen it?"

Krum dove after him and caught up fast as they hurtled towards the ground in sync at a rapid pace.

"They're going to crash!" shrieked Hermione.

"Are you blind!" screamed Levina.

"They're not!" yelled Ron.

"Lynch is!" roared Harry.

Lynch hit the ground with a horrible force and was immedietly stampeded by Veela.

"The Snitch, where's the snitch?" bellowed Charlie.

"HE'S GOT IT!" screamed Levina. "He's got the Snitch!"

"Ireland wins!" said Hermione, "Look at the score!"

"IRELAND WINS! KRUM GETS THE SNITCH-AND IRELAND WINS-good lord, I don't think any of us were expecting that," said Bagman.

"Except us," said Fred, who was grinning broadly.

"Are you psychic?" said Levina, returning the smile.

"Maybe," said Fred with a wink.

Hermione was leaning over the edge of the box.

"That was amazing! Krum's brilliant!"

"Great catch, that was," said Levina as the crowd roared and cheered for the names as they were called.

"That was some game," said Ron breathlessly.

"Yes, I owe you...how much?" said Bagman, who had used a charm to quiet his voice and was now counting out Galleons to give to a beaming Fred and George.

* * *

They returned to the guy's tent for a cup of hot chocolate and to discuss the match together, which Mr. Weasley allowed them to do since none of them were sleepy. The conversations continued until Ginny fell asleep and knocked her hot chocolate over. Mr. Weasley decided then it was time to go to bed.

Levina, Hermione, and Ginny returned to their tent. Levina changed into a jersey top and blue pajama pants and undid her ponytail, wiping the shamrock off her cheek.

As she brushed out her hair while looking in the mirror, she stared down at the large sapphire-blue number four on her chest; she twisted her face in concentration, her head beginning to pound. Then, just as she was about to give up, she could have sworn it changed to an aqua-blue color. Had it been aqua before? Levina shook her head, deciding it was too late to try and think, let alone do magic.

Hermione and Ginny were still discussing the match from their bunks, rambling excitedly.

"Thought you were tired?" said Levina to Ginny as she sat down.

"I was," said Ginny, yawning. "But I think spilling hot chocolate on my skin woke me up."

"Why are you wearing that?" said Hermione, gesturing to her attire. "Do you not have a night gown?"

"Nah, i just wanted to wear something more casual. I always do," said Levina, frowning. "What makes now any different?"

"The fact that you're probably freezing!" said Hermione.

"Not with my winter coat," said Levina with a wink. "Woof," she added.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I suppose that is true; even though you don't have fur, you probably don't get cold easily, do you?"

"Not really," said Levina. "Anyways, good night!"

"Good night," echoed Hermione and Ginny.

That night, Levina dreamt she was looking upon a vision of her father and rmother, who had expressions twisted with fear.

_"Take Levina and go!" Nadia pleaded, forcefully giving him the blue bundle in her arms._

_"I'm not leaving you," said Rick firmly, his dark brown eyes narrowed._

_"You need to get Levina out, Rick, now!" said Nadia angrily. "If you stay, he'll kill us all."_

_"Then let me stay," he whispered. "You can go-"_

_"She needs her father," said Nadia. "Now leave! Get Levina out of here!"_

_Rick looked like he might argue again, but instead, he kissed her hastily on the lips and fled to the door, looking over his shoulder one last time._

_"I love you," said Nadia. Tears ran down her cheeks but she paid them no mind. "Please. If you love me, you'll do this."_

"Get up, Levina, get up! Hermione, hurry, Ginny, move it! Up!"

Levina jolted upright, panting heavily, and turned to find Mr. Weasley.

"Wha-?" she began, but he had run to grab Ginny from her bed and was now running to the door.

"Quick, move it! This is an emergency!"

Levina could hear screams of terror outside and loud footsteps. She reached for her clothes but he shook his head.

"No time, Levina! Just grab a jacket and get outside quickly-hurry!"

Levina, hastily threw on a jacket and followed behind Hermione and Ginny.

There were loud, drunken yells, jeering, roars of laughter, and noises like gunfires.

Muggles were being lifted into the air and turned upside-down, spinning. Levina gasped in terror and ran to the others, pulling out her wand.

"That's sick," Ron muttered, watching the smallest Muggle spin like a top sixty feet above the ground, his head flopping limply from side to side. "That is really sick..."

"Not just sick!" said Levina angrily. "Twisted! Who are the assholes doing that?"

"Death Eaters," said Harry and Ron together.

"Get into the woods and _stick together. _I'll come and fetch you when I've sorted things out," said Mr. Weasley.

"Levina!" Fred appeared on Harry's right. "You all right?"

"As far as 'fine' can be right now," said Levina, panting like mad.

"C'mon." He grabbed Ginny's hand and they followed into the trees.

Levina tried to block everything out, but it was difficult. The screams that reached her ears were unbearable. She bit her lip and tried to look away.

Ron suddenly yelled with pain.

"What happened?" Hermione stopped so abruptly that Harry and Levina walked into her. "Ron, where are you? Oh this is stupid-_Lumos!"_

Ron was lying sprawled on the ground.

"Tripped over a tree root," he said angrily, getting to his feet again.

"Well, with feet that size, it's hard not to," said a drawling voice from behind them.

Levina turned sharply and glared; Draco Malfoy was standing alone against a tree, looking utterly relaxed with his arms folded.

Ron told Malfoy to do something Levina knew he would never have dared to say in front of Mrs. Weasley.

"Language, Weasley," said Draco, his pale eyes glittering.

Levina could feel a snarl forming. "Why dont you go s-"

"Levina!" said Hermione, astonished.

"Ah, Snowweed," he greeted. "Having fun?"

"You're hilarious," said Levina with thick sarcasm. She could feel her blood beginning to boil. "Become a comedian, why don't you?"

"Levina," whispered Hermione. "Don't get too...upset."

Levina knew she was referring to her transforming. She breathed in deeply and tried to keep her anger down, which was difficult.

"Hadn't you better hurry along, now? You wouldn't want _her _spotted, would you?" said Draco.

He nodded at Hermione.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Hermione defiantly.

"Granger, they're after Muggles. D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hand around...they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh."

"Shut your damn mouth, Malfoy," said Levina angrily.

"Hermione's a witch," Harry snarled.

"Have it your way, Potter," said Draco. "If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are."

"You watch your mouth!" said Ron.

"Nevermind, Ron," said Hermione, seizing his arm.

"Scare easily, don't they?" said Draco lazily as there was a loud bang and several screams. "I suppose your daddy told you all to hide? What's he up to-trying to rescue the Muggles?"

"Where're _your _parents?" said Harry. "Out wearing their masks, are they?"

"Well, if they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?"

"Oh come on, let's go and find the others," said Hermione with a disgusted look at Draco.

"Keep that big bushy head down, Granger," sneered Draco.

"Where's Fred?" said Levina; she looked around, realizing they were gone.

"Your boyfriend went that way," said Draco in an oddly malicious way, pointing to the left.

"He's not m-" Levina began, blushing furiously.

"Aw, did I upset SnowWeed?" sneered Draco.

"Come on," Hermione repeated.

Once they came out of the woods area, Levina began searching for the other Weasleys.

"They can't have gone far," said Ron.

A curly-haired girl accompanied by her friend ran over to them and began rambling in a launguage that sounded French.

"Uh," said Levina.

"Oh," said the girl, turning away. "'Ogwarts."

Levina caught a glimpse of her friend, who, strangely enough, looked oddly like-

"Beauxbatons," said Hermione.

"Sorry?" said Harry.

"The Beauxbatons Academy of Magic," said Hermione.

"There are other schools?" said Levina.

"Ah, I don't believe it!" said Harry, looking around wildly.

"What?" said Levina. "The school?"

"No-I've lost my wand!"

* * *

**Yet again, sorry for the huge delay! I promise I'll get better about it, but this week was busy.**

**Review!**

**Things to come: Winky, accusations, and the Triwizard Tournament.**


	3. Hogwarts, obviously

**savvygirl101LunaRachel: Haha, you know me too well (Or Fred). I'm glad you liked me little tid-bits, putting Levina into the story's always difficult. I agree Hilly and Hannah probably won't mind, but you never know. I'm also waiting for Breaking Dawn, I bet it'll be brilliant!**

**Silvermoony77: Yeah, that's always been a detail I liked; I always wondered what it was like from the POV of the girls since Harry's, obviously, a guy. :D**

**Disclaimer: Oh, you thought I was JK Rowling? Terribly sorry if you didn't realize that till now, even after all my disclaimers. (:**

**

* * *

**

"You're kidding!"

Levina searched wildly about the ground, but the wand was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe it's back in the tent," said Ron.

"Maybe it fell out of your pocket when we were running?" Hermione suggested.

"Maybe..."

"Is that Winky?" said Levina.

The house elf had come running out of the bushes with a terrified expression.

"There is bad wizards about!" she squeaked. "People high-high in the air! Winky is getting out of the way!"

She was running in a very odd fashion, looking as though some invisible force was holding her back.

"Wait-" said Levina as she dashed off into the trees.

"Bet she didn't ask permission to hide," said Harry.

Hermione immediately began to rant about elf rights, but Levina was more concerned about the Weasleys. Where did Fred, George, and Ginny go?

They continued on through the forest and passed several Veela and a group of young guys, goblins counting gold, and other people.

"_Honestly," _said Hermione, pulling Ron away from the Veela.

When they finally reached a clearing to settle down, Ludo Bagman emerged from the bushes.

"Who's that? What are you all doing here, alone?"

Levina exchanged surprised glances with the others.

"At the campsite...some people have got a hold of a family of Muggles..."

Bagman swore loudly.

"Damn them!" and he Disapparated with a small _pop!_

"Not exactly on top of things, is he?" said Hermione.

"I hope everyone's ok," said Levina, sitting down as Ron took out his model of Krum and placed it on the ground.

"They'll be fine," said Ron.

They watched the miniature Krum walk around for a while and Levina stared at the bark of a tree in silence, trying to turn it purple.

"Think things are settling down?" said Levina, staring off into the trees.

"Dunno," said Ron. "I can't hear anything anymore."

Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming towards them. Levina glanced over her shoulder.

"Hello?" called Harry. The footsteps had stopped.

There was silence.

"Hello?" Levina echoed.

"Who's there?" said Harry.

Suddenly there was a voice unlike any other they had heard in the wood; and it uttered not a panicked shout, but what sounded like a spell.

"_MORSMORDRE!"_

And something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the patch of darkness Levina's eyes had been trying to penetrate; it flew over the treetops and into the sky.

"What the-?" gasped Ron.

Up in the sky, there was a colossal skull comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue.

The wood around them erupted into screams.

"Who's there?" said Harry again.

"Show yourself!" said Levina.

"Harry, come on, _move!" _said Hermione, pulling Harry and Levina back by the collar.

"What's the matter?" said Harry.

"It's the Dark Mark, Harry!" Hermione moaned. "You-Know-Who's sign!"

"What!" said Levina.

"_Voldemort's-?"_

"Harry, Levina, come _on!"_

Ron scooped up his figure of Krum when there was a sudden series of popping noises. At least twenty wizards appeared, wands out.

Levina reached to grab hers, but Harry said, "DUCK!" and grabbed them to pull them to the ground.

"Harry-" Levina started, but twenty voices roared, "STUPEFY!"

Something red shot Levina square in the head and she crumpled to the ground on top of the others. Everything went black.

_"Get away from me."_

_Levina blinked several times to find herself looking upon a slightly-blurred scene in her old bedroom: Her mother, Nadia, had a bundle in her arms and was managing a fierce glare, but she looked frightened._

_"Stand aside, foolish girl," said the horrible voice of Voldemort. She could barely make him out, but she saw he was making his way towards her._

"_You can't have my baby," Nadia snarled, taking a terrified step back. _

"_Stand aside!"_

"_You can't have Levina! She's my child! My baby! Mine!"_

"_Get away—"_

"_You can't take her—"_

_There was a flash of green light and a horrible, ear-splitting scream pierced the air. Cold laughter followed._

_The bundle, lying still on the floor beside Nadia, was turned over with Voldemort's foot roughly. Inside, it was merely a wrap of several blankets._

_Levina felt Voldemort's incredibly rage and fury as he discovered no child beneath the bundle. She could feel her head pounding, his screams echoing—_

"Levina? Anyone home? Levina?"

With a start, Levina found herself face-to-face with Fred, who had concern etched on his features. Then relief.

"She's all right!" George called over his shoulder.

Fred put a hand on Levina's forehead gently, but he was grinning now. "You can't go one day without fainting, can you?"

"Ha ha," said Levina weakly. "What's happened?"

"Winky was set free!" said Hermione angrily before anyone could speak. "They found her with Harry's wand, but she was just returning it—"

"You got hit by a Stunning Curse," Ron interrupted. "Mr. Crouch let Winky free because she had his wand—"

"—which meant nothing!" said Hermione.

"—and she's in a real awful state right now," Ron finished.

"That's terrible!" said Levina as she sat up, head pounding slightly. "Is everything ok now?"

"Mostly," said Harry. "We're all safe and the Muggle's family had memory charms put on them."

"Are they all right?" said Levina.

"Mostly shock," said Mr. Weasley from the corner. "Now, off to bed everyone, Levina's all right; Fred, George, will you help her up?"

Fred offered her his hand and she took it, staggering to her feet.

"Come on, Levina," said Hermione. "Ginny and I are going back..."

"All right," said Levina. She followed them back to their tent and crawled into one of the beds, pulling the covers up to her chin.

The lights went out and Ginny fell asleep almost right away, but Levina remained awake. Her mother's scream and Voldemort's chilled laughter filled her mind and seemed to almost echo off the walls.

She turned over again and again several times, trying to clear her mind, and finally fell asleep.

* * *

Mr. Weasley woke them up after only a few hours of sleep. He used magic to pack up their tents and they returned to the Burrow.

The moment they rounded the corner and it came into view, there was a cry that echoed along the lane.

"Oh thank goodness, thank goodness!"

Mrs. Weasley, who had evidently been waiting for them in the front yard, came running toward them still wearing her bedroom slippers, her face pale and strained, a rolled-up copy of the _Daily Prophet _clutched in her hand.

"Arthur-I've been so worried-_so worried-"_

She flung her arms around Mr. Weasley's neck and dropped the newspaper, which read: _SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP._

"You're all right," Mrs. Weasley muttered distractedly, releasing Mr. Weasley and staring at them with red eyes, "you're alive...Oh, _boys..."_

And to everybody's surprise, she seized Fred and George and pulled them both into such a tight hug that their heads banged together.

"_Ouch! _Mum-you're strangling us-"

"I shouted at you before you let!" Mrs. Weasley said, starting to sob. "It's all I've been thinking about! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough OWLS? Oh Fred...George..."

"Come on, now, Molly, we're all perfectly okay," said Mr. Weasley soothingly, prising her off the twins and leading her back toward the house.

"Choking?" said Levina to Fred as they headed back inside.

"Oh, shut up," wheezed Fred, clutching his neck.

They entered the kitchen and Mrs. Weasley dropped, sobbing, into a seat with a shaking cup of tea in her hands. Harry kept staring out the window and Levina raised her eyebrows at him.

"Expecting something?" she asked.

"Mrs. Weasley," said Harry, shooting Levina a look, "has Hedwig arrived with a letter for me?"

"Hedwig, dear? No...no, there hasn't been any post at all."

Levina, Ron, and Hermione gave him a curious look. "All right if I go dump my stuff in your room, Ron?" he asked.

"Yeah...think I will too," said Ron at once. "Levina? Hermione?"

"Yes," said Hermione quickly.

"Need to check on Lily anyway," said Levina, and they all ran upstairs.

A black ball of fur came hurtling at Levina the moment she opened the door, followed by a slower-moving Crookshanks.

"Lily!" said Levina, scooping up the slim black cat. "Happy to see me?"

Lilypad bit her finger affectionately.

"What's up, Harry?" said Ron.

"There's something I haven't told you. On Saturday morning, I woke up with my scar hurting again."

"And you didn't think to tell us?" said Levina.

"But-he wasn't there-was he?" said Ron while Hermione began making suggestions and references to books.

"I'm sure he wasn't," said Harry. "But I was dreaming about him..."

Harry explained everything and Levina paced back and forth about the room, thinking.

"I _have _been having an awful lot of dreams lately," said Levina as she walked. "But, you don't think that has a connection, do you?"

"Dunno," said Ron. "It was only a dream, though. Just a nightmare."

"Yeah, but was it, though?" said Harry with a look out the window. "My scar hurts, and three days later the Death Eaters are on the march, and Voldemort's sign's up in the sky again."

"Don't-say-his-name!" Ron hissed through gritted teeth.

"Why were you asking if Hedwig had come, Harry?" said Hermione.

"I told Sirius about my scar," said harry.

"Good thinking! I bet Sirius'll know what to do," said Ron.

"Do you want me to send one with Artemis, too?" said Levina. "I think she's delivering one to Lupin, but she should be back soon."

"That's all right," said Harry gloomily.

"Come and have a game of Quidditch in the orchard, Harry," said Ron. "Come on, you too, Levina."

"Ron," said Hermione. "Harry doesn't want to play Quidditch right now...He's worried, and he's tired..."

"Yeah, I want to play Quidditch," said Harry suddenly. "Hang on, I'll get my Firebolt."

Hermione turned and left the room, muttering something that sounded like, "_Boys."_

"Hey!" Levina called after her. "Forgotten my sex again?"

She could hear Hermione making a 'tutting' noise from down the stairs.

...

"Just give him some more owl treats, Ron." said Levina.

"Why can't he be quiet like your owls?" demanded Ron angrily as he reached for his bag.

Levina re-checked packing her stuff and made sure Lilypad's cage was locked tightly. Artemis had returned and she had a new novel on werewolves from Lupin, so she packed that along with some candies into her bag. Her broomstick kit was already packed away under her clothes and she had her necklace secured around her neck.

"Here's some stuff mum got you from Diagon Alley," said Ron when she entered his room. He passed her gold and a stack of fresh clothes, several new quills, and _The Standard Book of Spells._

"Thanks," said Levina.

"Where's my Quidditch kit?" said Harry.

"On the bed," said Levina as she stacked up several more school books and crammed them into her bag. "Can't wait to finally go back to Hogwarts."

"Levina?" Mrs. Weasley called from the other room. "Can you come here?"

"Yeah," she called back. She entered Ginny's room to find Mrs. Weasley holding a handful of robes near the closet.

"Here's your school robes," said Mrs. Weasley as she passed it to her. "And your dress-"

"Dress?" said Levina, dumbfounded.

"Apparently we need them for school this year," said Hermione, shrugging.

"What I was saying was," said Mrs. Weasley, "I'll send you one, Levina, but I wasn't able to pick one up yet."

"Thanks," said Levina, shooting Hermione a bewildered look. Once Mrs. Weasley was gone, she said, "A _dress?"_

"Yeah," said Hermione casually.

"Hermione, if you know me well, and I know you do, then you'll know that I _don't do dresses."_

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I don't know what it's for."

* * *

"Mad-eye Moody?" said Levina as she climbed into the cramped Muggle taxi.

"Yeah, he's retired from the Ministry," said Ron, taking care to lower his voice to a whisper as they sat down.

Levina had a feeling the taxi drivers weren't too pleased to be transporting a bunch of overexcited owls. It didn't help that a number of Fred and George's Filibuster's Fabulous No-Heat, Wet-Start Fireworks went off unexpectedly when their trunk sprung open, causing the driver carrying it to yell in fright and pain as Crookshanks clawed his way up the man's leg.

"Don't get any ideas," said Levina as Lilypad sat up eagerly, watching Crookshanks.

The journey was uncomfortable, owing to the fact that they were jammed in the back of the taxis with their trunks. Crookshanks took quite a while to recover from the fireworks, and by the time thei entered London, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Levina were all severly scratched. They were relieved to get out at King's Cross, but the rain was coming down harder than ever, and they got soaked carrying their trunks across the busy road and into the station.

Levina, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went as a group through the barrier; they leaned against the wall and chatted unconcernedly and slide sideways through it...and as they did so, platform nine and three-quarters materialized in front of them.

The gleaming scarlet Hogwarts Express was already waiting there for them. They found seats and Levina stuffed her luggage in the compartment halfway along the train. Then they hopped back down to say goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie.

"I might be seeing you all sooner than you think," said Charlie, grinning as he hugged Ginny good-bye.

"Why?" said Fred keenly.

"You'll see," said Charlie. "Just don't tell Percy I mentioned it...it's 'classified' information, until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it, 'after all."

"Yeah, i sort of wish I was going back to Hogwarts this year," said Bill, his hands in his pockets, looking almost wistfully at the train.

"_Why?" _said George impatiently.

"You're going to have an interesting year," said Bill, his eyes twinkling. "I might even get time off to come and watch a bit of it..."

"A bit of _what?" _said Ron as Levina cocked her head to one side.

But at that moment, the train whistle blew, and Mrs. Weasley chivvied them toward the train doors.

"Thanks for letting us stay, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione.

"Yeah, thanks for everything," said Harry.

"Thanks a million!" said Levina.

"Oh it was my pleasure, dears. I'd invite you to stay for Christmas, but...well, I expect you're all going to want to stay at Hogwarts, what with...one thing and another."

"Mum!" said Ron irritably. "What d'you three know that we don't?"

"You'll find out this evening, I expect."

Levina rolled her eyes and ducked into their compartment as Ron, Fred, and George bellowed out of the train at their mother.

Lilypad leapt into Levina's lap and curled up in a tight ball with her tail on her nose as the train took off, the heavy rain splattering the windows.

"Bagman wanted to tell us what was happening at Hogwarts," said Ron grumpily as he sat down next to Harry. "Wonder what-"

"Shh!" Hermione whispered suddenly, pointing to the compartment next to theirs. Levina looked up and listened, but it was oddly very clear to hear what was being said. She wondered if it had anything to do with her canine-instinct. The drawling voice reached her ears.

"...Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts. He knows the headmaster, you see. Well, you know his oppinion of Dumbledore-the man's such a Mudblood lover-and Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riffraff. But mother didn't like the idea of me going to school far away. Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. Durmstrang students actually _learn _them, not just the defense rubbish we do..."

Hermione got up, tiptoed to the compartment door, and slid it shut, blocking out Draco's voice.

"I forgot how lovely it is to be in his presence," said Levina sarcastically.

"So he thinks Durmstrang would have suited him, does he?" said Hermione angrily. "I wish he _had _gone, then we wouldn't have to put up with him."

"Durmstrang's another wizarding school?" said Harry.

"Yes," said Hermione stiffly, "and it's got a horrible reputation. According to _An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe, _it puts a lot of emphasis on the Dark Arts."

"Well, that's an obviously good sign," said Levina.

"I think I've heard of it," said Ron vaguely. "Where is it? What country?"

"Well, nobody knows, do they?" said Hermione.

"Why not?" said Harry and Levina at the same time.

"There's traditionally been a lot of rivalry between all the magic schools. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang like to conceal their where-abouts so nobody can steal their secrets," said Hermione.

"Come off it," said Ron. "Durmstrang's got to be about the same size as Hogwarts-how are you going to hide a great big castle?"

"But Hogwarts is _hidden," _said Hermione. "Everyone knows that...well, everyone who's read _Hogwarts, A History, _anyway."

"I tried reading it," said Levina. "Gave up within an hour."

"Just you, then," said Ron. "So go on-how d'you hide a school like Hogwarts?"

"It's bewitched," said Hermione. "If a Muggle looks like it, all they see is a moldering ruin with a sign at the entrance saying DANGER, DO NOT ENTER, UNSAFE."

"So Durmstrang'll just look like a ruin to an outsider too?"

"Maybe," said Hermione.

"Then I would just look for some old dump and assume it's one of the other schools," said Levina. Ron laughed.

"But I think Durmstrang must be somewhere in the far north," said Hermione thoughtfully. "Somewhere very cold, because they've got fur capes as part of their uniforms."

"Ah, think of the possibilities," said Ron dreamily. "It would've been so easy to push malfoy off a glacier and make it look like an accident...Shame his mother likes him..."

Levina laughed. "Why don't we just push him off one of the towers here?"

The rain became heavier and heavier as the train moved farther north. The sky was so dark and the windows so steamy that the lanters were lit by midday. The lunch trolley came rattling along the corridor, and Harry bought them all Cauldron Cakes. Levina bought Bertti Botts, a lollipop, and a water and settled down.

"I love rain," she whispered happily, closing her eyes and drinking her water.

Several of their friends looked in on them as the afternoon progressed, including Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom.

They'd gotten back into the discussion of Quidditch, but Hermione had buried herself in a book to avoid it.

"Gran didn't want to go," said Nevile miserably. "Wouldn't buy tickets. It sounded amazing, though."

"It was," said Ron, and Levina elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Look at this, Neville..."

He rummaged in his trunk and pulled out the miniature figure of Viktor Krum.

"Oh _wow," _said Neville enviously as Ron tipped Krum onto his pudgy hand.

"We saw him right up close, as well," said Ron. "We were in the Top Box-"

"For the first and last time in your life, Weasley."

Draco Malfoy had appeared in the doorway. Behind him stood Crabbe and Goyle, his enormous, thuggish cronies, both of whom appeared to have grown at least a foot during the summer. Evidently they'd overheard the conversation through the compartment door, which Dean and Seamus had left ajar.

"Don't remember asking you to join us, Malfoy," said Harry coolly.

"There goes my peaceful afternoon," said Levina.

"Weasley...what is _that?" _said Draco, pointing at Pigwidgeon's cage. A moldly lace cuff of a robe was sticking out of Ron's luggage. Levina stared at it, too.

Ron made to stuff it out of sight, but Draco was too quick for him; he seized the sleeve and pulled.

"Look at this!" said Draco in ecstacy, holding up Ron's robes and showing Crabbe and Goyle. "Weasley, you weren't thinking of _wearing _these, were you? I mean-they were very fashionable in about eighteen ninety..."

"Eat dung, Malfoy!" said Ron, the same color as the dress robes as he snatched them out of Draco's grip. Draco howled with derisive laughter; Crabbe and Goyle guffawed stupidly.

"So...going to enter, Weasley? Going to try and bring a little glory to the family name? There's money involved as well, you know...you'd be able to afford some decent robes if you won..."

"What are you talking about?" snapped Ron.

"_Are you going to enter?" _Draco repeated. "I suppose _you two _will, Potter? Snoweed? You never miss a chance to show off, do you?"

"Either explain what you're going on about or go away, Malfoy," said Hermione testily.

A gleeful smile spread across Draco's face.

"Don't tell me you don't _know?" _he said delightedly. "My God, _my _father told me about it ages ago...heard it from Cornelius Fudge. But then, Father's too associated with the top people at the Ministry...Maybe your father's too junior to know about it, Weasley...yes...they probably don't talk about important stuff in front of him..."

Laughing once more, Draco beckoned to Crabbe and Goyle, and they began to leave.

Levina stood up abruptly, faced Draco, and kicked him hard in the shins. His knees buckled and he gave a gasp of pain and surprise.

"Have a nice afternoon," she said camly through gritted teeth, but she was steaming with anger inside.

Ron got to his feet as they ran off and slammed the compartment door so hard that the glass shattered.

"_Ron!" _said Hermione reproachfully. "_Reparo!" _The glass shards flew back into a single pane and back into the door.

"Well...making it look like he knows everything and we don't..." Ron snarled. "Dad could've gotten a promotion any time...he just likes it where he is..."

"Of course he does," said Hermione quietly. "Don't let Malfoy get to you, Ron-"

"Him? Get to me? As if!" said Ron, squashing one of the Cauldron Cakes into a pulp.

Ron's bad mood continued for the rest of the journey. He didn't talk much as they changed into their school robes, and he was still glowering when the Hogwarts Express pulled to a stop.

Levina bundled up Lilypad in her cloak and put her robes over Artemis's cage as she stepped out of thr train doors. The rain was coming down hard now, and Levina's hair was becoming bitterly soaked.

"All righ', Harry? Levina?" bellowed a familiar voice.

"Hagrid!" called Levina, grinning and waving back. "I'll see you at the feast!"

They climbed into one of the horseless carriages with Neville and Levina settled into a seat, allowing Lilypad to peer out of her cloak.

"Oooh, I wouldn't fancy crossing this the lake in this weather," said Hermione, watching as the first years miserably made their way into the boats.

"I've never loved the carriages more than today," said Levina, staring out at the pouring rain.

When they reached Hogwarts, everyone around them was hurrying up the stone steps in a haste to get out of the rain. They ran into the torch-lit entrance hall with the marble staircase and Levina shook water out of her hair.

"Still love rain?" said Ron to Levina, shaking his head and sending water everywhere. "Blimey, if that keeps up, the lake's going to overflow. I'm soak-ARRGH!"

A large, red, water-filled balloon had dropped from out of the ceiling onto Ron's head and exploded. Drenched and spluttering, Ron staggered sideways just as a second one dropped and hit Levina square on the head, sending freezing water all over her body.

Twenty feet above them, Peeves the Poltergeist was holding a handful of water balloons, grinning maliciously and taking aim with full concentration.

"DAMN IT, PEEVES!" Levina shrieked, shaking water from her already-damp hair. "You-"

At this, Peeves blew a raspberry and dropped a second one at Levina, narrowly missing her as she stepped aside and it splashed several fifth year girls.

"PEEVES!" Professor McGonagall yelled angrily. "Peeves, come down here at once!"

Professor McGonagall came dashing out of the Great Hall and skidded on the wet floor; she grabbed Hermione around the neck to stop herself from falling.

"Ouch-sorry, Miss Granger-"

"That's all right, Professor!" gasped Hermione, massaging her throat.

"Not doing nothing!" cackled Peeves. "Already wet, aren't they? Little squirts! Wheeeeee!" And he aimed another bomb at a group of second years who had just arrived.

Levina ran into the Great Hall, cursing bitterly under her breath and wringing water from her hair. Suddenly, a set of robes dropped onto her shoulders. Levina looked up to see Fred walking beside her, wrapping her shoulders in his black robes and grinning.

"Have a nice shower?" he asked.

Levina could feel her cheeks begin to turn a pale pink. "Oh-yeah, lovely weather."

As she walked, she took notice that, for some reason, Draco Malfoy, who was already seated with the Slytherins, was eyeing her with an awfully resentful look. When he noticed she was looking back at him, however, he turned away and began talking to Pansy. Levina shrugged it off. When _wasn't _Draco glaring at her?

They all sat down along the rows of tables and Levina took a seat between Harry and Fred.

"Ah, I look a wreck," said Levina as she wiped water off her face. "Curse you, Peeves."

"I didn't get hit," said Fred happily as he wrung water from her hair. "And you're right; you look terrible."

Levina shot him an irritated look and he laughed. "Kidding, kidding. Take a joke."

"I avoided it, too, but I'm still soaked," said Ginny with a shiver.

"Same here," said George from Fred's right.

"Well, good for you," said Levina. "If I ever get my hands on Peeves-"

"Good evening."

Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost with a partially severed neck, drifted next to them.

"Says who?" said Harry, taking off his sneakers and emptying them of water. "Hope they hurry up with the sorting. I'm starving."

"Me too," said Levina as she handed Fred his cloak back. "I hope they have meat."

This sentence surprised Levina as she said it; over the summer, she'd begun to have a taste for meat more than usual. She had a feeling it had something to do with the whole werewolf deal, but she was beginning to become concerned that she might take her meat cravings to far and attack one of the students.

Levina shook her head to clear it when a voice said, "Hiya, Harry!"

Colin Creevey, a third year student, had appeared next to them.

"Hi, Colin," said Harry warily.

"Harry, guess what? Guess what, Harry? My brother, Dennis is starting!"

"Er-good," said Harry.

"He's really excited!" said Colin, bouncing up and down. "I just hope he's in Gryffindor! Keep your fingers crossed, eh, Harry?"

"Er-yeah, all right," said Harry.

"You, too, Levina!" he said cheerfully.

"Um, sure," said Levina. "We could always use another Gryffindor."

"Where's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Hermione.

Levina glanced up at the staff table, where the seat on Snape's side was empty. Lupin had been such a great teacher that Levina had a feeling the next one might just be a disappointment. As she looked around by Snape, the greasy, black-haired Potions teacher; he'd had hated her the moment she'd set foot in Hogwarts four years ago, and she had her suspicions that this year would be no different.

"Maybe they couldn't get anyone!" said Hermione, looking anxious.

"Maybe he's just late," said Levina. "Calm down, Hermione."

"Oh, hurry up," Ron moaned on Harry's other side. "I could eat a hippogriff."

"Don't try it," Levina advised. He managed a weak smile that didn't last.

Professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall brandishing a list with the first years following behind her. All of them were soaking wet and appeared to have swam rather than sailed.

The Sorting began and the hat sang it's song which, Levina noted, was different from the one she'd heard when she was sorted.

"That's not the song it sang when it sorted us," said Harry, as though reading Levina's mind.

"Sings a different one every year," said Ron, clapping along with everyone else. "It's got to be a pretty boring life, hasn't it, being a hat? I suppose it spends all year making up the next one."

Levina watched and applauded as the first years were sorted, and Colin's brother, Dennis, was sent to Gryffindor. By the time it was over with, Levina could feel her hunger growing at a rapid pace.

"I only have two words to say to you," said Dumbledore as he stood up and smiled. "_Tuck in."_

"Hear, hear!" said Harry and Ron loudly.

Their plates magically filled with food and Levina dove straight for the chicken. She tore off a large chunk of it and chewed hungrily, occasionally taking a sip of her drink.

"Hungry?" said Harry beside her as he reached for more potato.

Levina frowned and slowed her eating pace. "Oh...sorry. I've been really into meat lately."

"Not a good thing!" said Hermione from across the table. "You should try to avoid pultries and try more vegetables and-"

"Are you _joking?" _said Levina as she stabbed a slab of ham with her fork. "Hermione, I'm _supposed _to be a carnivore!"

"Yes, but getting used to eating meat products will only worsen things for you!" Hermione insisted. "You'll become to comfortable with eating meats and want more than just animals."

"Come off it!" said Levina, looking around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. "You think I'm going to eat one of you?"

"I'm just saying that you should have other things in your diet," said Hermione.

Levina frowned at her chicken leg, pushed it away, and began eating a potato.

Fred started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Levina demanded as she reached for her pumpkin juice.

"You," said Fred. "Miss carnivore."

Levina grinned and fake-punched him. By Harry, Nearly Headess Nick was telling them about Peeves wreaking havoc in the kitchens.

"Pots and pans everywhere. Place swimming in soup. Terrified the house-elves out of their wits-"

_Clang._

Hermione had knocked over her golden goblet and sent pumpkin juice all over the tablecloth. Levina wiped it hastily up as it began to soak her robes.

"There are house-elves _here?" _she said, staring horror-shock at Nearly Headless Nick. "Here at _Hogwarts?"_

"Certainly," said Nearly Headles Nick, looking surprised at her reaction. "The largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred."

"I've never seen one!" said Hermione.

"Well, they hardly ever leave the kitchen by day, do they?" said Nearly Headless Nick. "They come out at night and do a bit of cleaning...see to the fires and so on...I mean, you're not supposed to see them, are you? That's the mark of a good house-elf, isn't it, that you don't know it's there?"

Hermione stared at him.

"But they get _paid?" _she said. "They get _holidays, _don't they? And-and sick leave, and pensions, and everything?"

Nearly Headless Nick chortled so hard that his head flopped off and he had to push it back on.

"Sick leave and pensions? House-elves don't want sick leaves and pensions!"

Hermione put down her fork and knife and shoved her plate away from her.

"Oh, c'mon, 'Er-my-knee," said Ron through a mouthful of pudding. "You won't get them sick leave by starving yourself!"

"Ron, show some compassion for once," said Levina.

"Slave labor," said Hermione, breathing hard through her nose. "That's what made this dinner. _Slave Labor. _Are you still going to eat it?" she added to Levina.

"Well...seeing as I have only the choice of eating this or one of you," said Levina, making a scale with her hands, "I'm gonna go with the slave labor."

And Hermione turned away and refused to eat another bite.

* * *

**Ah, another chapter complete! Sorry this took a while, I haven't had a lot of time to work on this.**

**Things to come: The Goblet of Fire, Mad-eye Moody, and more.**

**Review (:**


	4. Mad eye Moody

**I'm so, so, so, sorry for the delay! I dropped my laptop and it had a heart attack or something, so while I figure out how to fix it, I have to type this from an old computer that's _incredibly _slow, so bear with me. Thanks for all your support.**

**Silvermoony77: Haha, yeah, it would be bad if Levina took a bite out of someone! Poor Levina, always being mistaken for a guy (: **

**Savvygurl101LunaRachel: Yes, Draco is jealous! :D Oh, you're a vegetarian? That's cool! I love animals, but every time I try to be a vegetarian, it doesn't work out. :( Curse you, meat! And thanks, I can't wait either. You'll just have to wait for more LevinaXFred moments, I'm pouring on more romance in this novel because everyone's sort of growing up more.**

**Flyingwerecats****: I'm sure all the carnivores out there are cheering her on, haha. And yeah, Draco is definetly not liking Fred right now! Draco and the Weasley twins are my favorite characters! (I mean, besides the obvious awesome trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione) (:**

**Disclaimer: As I've said the last who-knows-how-many-chapters, I am in fact not JK Rowling. Terribly sorry.**

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When all of the puddings had been demolished, the plates were swept clean and the buzzing chatter died down.

"So!" said Dumbledore, smiling down at them all. "Now that we are all fed and watered," ("Hmph!" said Hermione) "I must ask once more for your attention."

Levinalistened as he went over some of the rules and forbidden objects, watching Hermione out of the corner of her eye as she crossed her arms and glared at her plate.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"_What?" _Levina and Harry gasped.

Levina turned to Fred and George, who were mouthing soundlessly at Dumbledore, apparently too apalled to speak.

"But I'e been practicing and taking notes all summer!" Levina protested.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy-but I am sure you will enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts-"

But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall sprang open.

_Oh, great, _Levina thought. _Just as he was about to tell us. _She turned around to look at the doors.

A man stood in the doorway, leaning upin a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark gray hair, then began to walk up towards the teachers' table.

A dull clunk echoed the Great Hall every time he took a limping step. Levina shot Harry and Ron a look, but Hermione gasped.

The lightning had thrown his face into sharp relief. It looked as though his face had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces are supposed to look like. Every inch of his skin seemed to be scarred and his mouth looked like a diagonal gash, a large chunk missing from his nose.

But what was most frightening was his eyes. One of them was small, dark, and beady. The other was as large and round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. It was moving quite independently of the other eye, swiveling about like mad.

The sharp blue one met Levina's brown eyes for a moment and she felt a cold shiver; Fred turned to look at her, but he didn't say anything.

The stranger reached Dumbledore, shook his hand, and sat down. He began cutting up a slice of sausage, his normal eye looking down and his blue one wildly searching the room.

"May I introduce the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Professor Dumbledore. "Professor Moody."

Only Dumbledore and Hagrid clapped, which was odd since usually new teachers were greeted with heavy applause.

"Uhh," whispered Levina. "Moody?"

"_Mad-eye Moody? _The one your dad went to help this morning?" said Harry to Ron.

"What?" said Levina.

"You were upstairs," said Harry.

"Must be," said Ron in a low, awed voice.

"What happened to him?" said Hermione. "What happened to his _face?"_

"Dunno," said Ron, watching Moody with fascination.

Levina watched as he took out a flask from his cloak and drank from it, ignoring the flask of pumpkin juice.

"Looks pretty mad to me," whispered Levina. "And Moody."

Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"As I was saying, we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" said Fred loudly.

The tension from Moody's entrance broke. Nearly everyone laughed and Dumbledore chuckled.

"I am _not _joking, Mr. Weasley," said Dumbledore.

He began to explain everything that takes place in the tournament, including how there were to be champions from each school and three magical tasks.

"-the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued-"

"_Death toll?" _Hermione whispered.

"Brilliant," said Levina appreciatively.

"The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their shortlisted contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide with students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

"I'm going for it!" Fred hissed.

"Sounds awesome," Levina agreed. "I'd like to try my hand at it."

Dumbledore continued, explaining the rest of the Tournament, including the age boundary of seventeen (Fred and George looked furious at this) and the judge.

"And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

"Well, that's crap," said Levina with a frown.

"They can't do that!" said George, standing and glaring at Dumbledore. "We're seventeen in April, why can't we have a shot?"

"They're not stopping me entering," said Fred stubbornly. "The champions'll do all sorts of stuff you'd never be allowed to do normally. And a thousand Galleons prize money!"

"Yeah," said Ron, a faraway look on his face. "Yeah, a thousand Galleons..."

"I really wanted to try out," said Levina with a disappointed look. "It looked like fun..."

"Fun?" said Hermione, staring open-mouthed at Levina. "Did you not listen about the 'death toll' and 'danger's?"

"'Course I did," said Levina. "That's exactly why I want to try."

Fred laughed. "Well, obviously."

Levina yawned and stretched. "Ah, I can't wait to sleep on my bed again. The one back home feels like sleeping on cardboard..."

"I reckon a couple of drops of Aging Potion might do it, George..."

"Dumbledore knows you're not of age, though," said Ron.

"Yeah but he's not the one who decides who the champion is, is he?" said Fred shrewdly.

"People have died, though!" said Hermione.

"Yeah," said Fred airily, "but that was years ago, wasn't it? Anyway, where's the fun without a bit of risk?"

"Exactly my point!" said Levina; Hermione shot her an aggravated look.

They made their way back to the Gryffindor Tower, where the Fat Lady was sitting in her usual portrait and waiting for them.

"Password?" she asked.

"Balderdash," said George. "A prefect downstairs told me."

Levina went straight up to the girl's dormitory, shrugging off her still-wet cloak and waving goodnight to the others.

"_Slave labor," _said Hermione as she followed behind Levina.

"Yeah, yeah," said Levina. "Did you ever consider the fact that they might like it?"

Hermione stared at her. "Like it? _Like _it? Levina, that's insane!"

"_You're _insane," said Levina.

"Hello," said Ginny when they entered the room.

"Hi, Ginny," said Levina. "I can't wait for October! I wonder what the other schools are like?"

"Same here," said Ginny as she dropped onto the bed next to her. "Anyway, goodnight!"

"'Night," said Levina. She curled up under the covers as the lights flickered off, sinking into her dreams of winning the tournament.

* * *

That following morning, the storm had blown over as Levina ate breakfast in the Great Hall, comparing her schedule to Harry, Ron, and Hermione's.

"Double Divination this afternoon," groaned Harry as he stared at his list of classes.

"Same here," said Levina. "Oh, but look, Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid! ...Oh, wait, it's with the Slytherins again."

"Damn it," said Ron. "We're _still _with the Slytherins?"

Levina stabbed her scrambled eggs. "Why can't we have it with Ravenclaw? Cho and I hardly ever talk anymore."

"Cho?" said Harry; he looked up from his porridge, turned pink, and quickly shoveled some into his mouth.

"Yes, Cho," said Levina with a smile. "Problem?"

"No," said Harry too quickly.

Levina's grin widened. "What's the matter? You don't..._like _her, do you?"

"What? What are you-? I mean-" Harry spluttered.

"I'm kidding," said Levina, pulling the plate of bacon towards her.

"You're eating again, I notice," said Ron to Hermion as she added liberal amounts of jam onto her toast.

"I've decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights," said Hermione haughtily.

"Yeah...and you were hungry," said Ron, grinning.

There was a sudden rustling noise above them and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail. A small parcel landed on Neville's lap and Draco's eagle owl soared down to deliver what looked like his usual sweets and cakes from home. Levina watched as Harry searched the sky for his snowy owl, Hedwig.

A package dropped from the sky and landed in front of Levina. She looked up and saw Athena fluttering down to land on her shoulder.

"Don't worry too much, Harry," said Levina as she untied the package. "I'm sure Sirius and Hedwig are fine...Oh, another werewolf book from Lupin," she added.

They headed off to Herbology, where they extracted pus from an ugly black plant called a Bubotuber, which Levina found revolting, even if it was good for helping acne.

Afterwards, the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs seperated; Gryffindor headed down to Hagrid's hut, where Hagrid was standing outside with Fang, his enormous black boarhound, and several wooden crates.

"Mornin'!" said Hagrid, grinning at Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Levina. "Be'er wait fer the Slytherins, they won' want ter miss this-Blast-ended Skrewts!"

_Blast-ended Skrewt? _thought Levina. _Is that some weird cuss word?_

"Come again?" said Ron.

Hagrid pointed to the crates.

Lavender Brown peered into one and squealed. "Eurgh!"

Levina came up behind her and glanced into the crates, but immediately jumped back. The Blast-Ended Skrewts looked like deformed, shell-less, horribly pale lobsters. They were slimy and had a few legs sticking out in odd places and had no visible heads. They smelled like rotting fish and every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of one and it would be propelled several inches.

"On'y just hatched," said Hagrid proudly, "so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project of it!"

"And why would we _want _to raise them?" came a cold voice.

The Slytherins had arrived. Draco Malfoy was standing at the front of them, accompanied by Crabbe and Goyle.

Hagrid looked stumped at the question.

"I mean, what do they _do?_" asked Draco. "What is the _point _of them?"

As much as Levina hated Draco, she couldn't help but agree with him.

"Tha's next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus' feedin' 'em today. Now, yeh'll wan' ter try 'em on a few diff'rent things-I've never had 'em before, not sure what they'll go fer-I got ant eggs an' frog livers an' a bit o' grass snake-just try 'em out with a bit of each."

Levina managed an incredibly weak smile that didn't reach the disgusted look in her eyes.

"First pus and now this," muttered Seamus.

Levina picked up a frog liver and shuddered as she lowered it into one of the crates; she found it quite pointless, seeing as the Skrewtsdidn't appear to have mouths, but she nevertheless placed it in the crate.

"_Ouch!" _yelled Dean Thomas after about ten minutes. "It got me!"

Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious.

"Its end exploded!" said Dean angrily.

"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off," said Hagrid, nodding.

"Eurgh!" said Lavender again. "Eurgh, Hagrid, what's that pointy thing on it?"

"Ah, some of 'em have got stings," said Hagrid enthusiastically. "I reckon they're the males...The females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies...I think they might be ter suck blood."

"Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," said Draco sarcastically. "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at the same time?"

"Just because they're not very pretty, it doesn't mean they're not useful," snapped Hermione. "Dragon blood's amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want to keep a dragon for a pet, would you?"

Levina, Harry, and Ron grinned up at Hagrid; they all knew too well how much he wanted a dragon as a pet; he had owned one for a brief period of time in their first year.

"_Agh!" _said Levina suddenly; one of the Skrewts had shot off and burned her hand.

Draco, who was standing in front of Levina, sneered. "Having fun, SnowWeed?"

"Loads," snarled Levina, glancing at Hagrid to make sure he wasn't watching. "Why don't you try it?"

"No thanks," said Draco. "Don't want another incident; remember the last time one of that oaf's pets got me?" He gestured to his arm.

Levina could feel her blood beginning to boil. "One: Hagrid's not an oaf. Two: That was your own damn fault, _Malfoy, _and you know it."

As they headed back to the castle, Levina caught up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"If there's anyone who could turn me into a werewolf, it would be him," she muttered angrily.

"Don't," Hermione advised.

"I think I should," said Levina. "Then I could rip his head off."

They sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall and helped themselves to lamb chops and potatoes. Hermione began to eat so fast that Levina, Ron, and Harry stared at her.

"Er-is this the new stand on elf rights?" said Ron. "You're going to make yourself puke instead?"

"And you were upset with _my _eating habits," said Levinaas she spooned potatoes onto her plate.

"No," said Hermione. "I just want to get to the library."

"_What?" _said Ron in disbelief. "Hermione-it's the first day back! We haven't even got homework yet!"

Hermione shrugged and continued to shovel her food down.

"See you later!" she said moments later; she then leapt to her feet and departed at top speed.

"Blimey," said Ron, "what could she possibly need to look up on the first day?"

"I know," said Levina through a mouthful of lam chops. "I mean, she's already read every single book there is."

When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon classes, Levina, Ron, and Harry set off for the North Tower where, at the top of a spiraling staricase, a silver stepladder led to a circular trap-door in the ceiling.

Levina gaggedat the scent of heavy perfume as they emerged into Professor Trelwaney'sclass, which consisted of several poufs around circular tables and lots of clutter along the walls.

"Good day," said a sudden misty voice behind them; Levinajumped and turned to see Professor Trelwaney, decked out in her usual large bangles and beads. Her eyes were magnified several times with her black glasses.

"You are preoccupied, my dear," she whispered mournfully to Harry. "I see difficult times ahead for you...most difficult...and perhaps sooner than you think..."

"Well, duh," muttered Levina to Harry and Ron as they sat down on their poufs and rolled their eyes. "I mean, when have we ever had an easy year?"

But to her surprise, Harry looked somewhat nervous.

"What?" said Levina. "You don't actually believe her...do you?"

"'Course not," said Harry, but he still had a far-off look.

"My dears, it is time to consider the stars," said Professor Trelwaney as she crossed the room. "The movements of the planets and the mysterious potents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance."

Levina yawned a bit too loudly and quickly covered it with a cough. The perfume of her room and the heat of the fire always made her sleepy, which made the class good for sleeping in. Levina laid her head onto the table and closed her eyes.

"My dear," said Professor Trelwaney, coming up to their table in front of Harry. "The Inner Eye tells all, but sometimes it is not always comprehended in the way we expect. You, my dear, were obviously born under Saturn."

Harry didn't say anything.

Everyone in the class looked at their table expectantly and Levina lifted her head up.

"Harry." She jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow and he jolted awake. Apparently the perfume had gotten to him, too.

"What?"

"I was saying, my dear, that you were born under the baleful influence of Saturn," she repeated, looking slightly irritated.

"Born under-what, sorry?" said Harry.

"Saturn, dear, the planet Saturn! Your dark hair...your mean stature...tragic losses so young in life...I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter?"

"No," said Harry. "I was born in July."

Ron and Levina quickly covered their open laughs with hacking coughs.

Half an hour later, each of them were given a complicated chart to use for figuring out the position of the planets at the moment of their birth.

"I think I did something wrong," said Levina as she examined her sheet. "Should there be a Mars on here?"

"I've got two Neptunes here," said Harry, frowning, "that can't be right, can it?"

"Aaaaah," said Ron in an accurate imitation of Professor Trelwaney's misty voice, "when two Neptunes appear in the sky, it is a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry."

Seamus and Dan, who were working nearby, sniggered loudly, but not loudly enough to cover the excited squeals from Lavender: "Oh-Professor, look! I think I've got an unaspected planet! Oooh, which one's that, Professor?"

"It is Uranus, my dear," said Professor Trelwaney, peering down at the chart.

Levina accidentally let a loud snicker slip and she hastily turned away, covering her mouth to stifle it.

"Can I have a look at Uranus too, Lavender?" said Ron.

Levina completely lost it; perhaps it was the combination of thick perfume and all the jokes, but Levina burst into hysterics.

Most unfortunately, Professor Trelwaney had heard Ron, and they suspected that was why she gave them so much extra homework.

"Miserable old bat," said Ron bitterly as they joined they headed back down for dinner. "That'll take us all weekend, that will..."

"Lots of homework?" said Hermione brightly, catching up to them. "Professor Vector didn't give us any at all!"

"Well, bully for Professor Vector," said Ron moodily.

"It was worth it," said Levina, who still had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

They reached the entrance hall, which was packed with people queuing for dinner. They had just joined the crowd when a loud voice rang out behind them.

"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

"Crap," said Levina, all her humor draining instantly. She turned around to see Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle heading towards them.

"What?" said Ron shortly.

"You're dad's in the paper! Listen to this!"

Draco unfolded the newspaper under his arm and began to read about 'Arnold' Weasley ("Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley," Draco crowed.) and Mad-eye Moody's issue with a bunch of aggressive dustbins. The whole situation required many memory modifications as well.

"And there's a picture, Weasley! A picture of your parents outside their house-if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?"

"Piss of, Malfoy," said Levina.

"Get stuffed, Malfoy," said Harry. "C'mon, Ron."

Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him.

"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you, Potter? SnowWeed?" said Draco. "So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?"

"You know _your _mother, Malfoy?" said Harry, "that expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"

Malfoy's face went slightly pink.

"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter."

"Keep your fat mouth shut, then."

"Yeah, at least Ron's mom isn't as thin as a fish bone," said Levina. "Come on, guys."

They turned away and there was a sudden loud BANG! Something white-hot shot past Harry's face, nearly hitting him. Both Harry and Levina wheeled around, pulling out their wands, but there was a second BANG, and a roar that echoed through the entrance hall.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!"

Levina spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and was pointed at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Draco had been standing.

Bewildered, Levina stared blankly at the ferret in disbelief.

"Did he get you?" Moody growled.

"No," said Harry, "missed."

"LEAVE IT!" Moody shouted.

"Leave-what?" said Harry.

"Not you-him!" Moody jerked his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the ferret.

Moody began to limp towards them, and the ferret gave a terrified squeak and took off towards the dungeons.

"I don't think so!" roared Moody.

The ferret flew ten feet in the air, fell to the floor with a loud smack, and bounced upwards once more.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back is turned," growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do..."

The ferret flew through the air, its legs flailing helplessly.

"Never-do-that-again-" said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again.

"Stop it!"

If everyone hadn't stared at Levina, she would have thought someone else had said it, but the words had left her mouth before she knew what she was saying.

Moody raised his eyebrows at her and the ferret seized in mid-air, drifting and letting out squeals of pain.

"'Scuse me?" he growled.

Levina flushed red and Harry and Ron gave her stunned looks. "Well, you're...you're hurting him..."

Moody's electric blue eye swiveled at her and he gave the ferret another slam onto the tile.

"Professor Moody!" said a shocked voice.

Professor McGonagall was coming down the staircase, carrying a handful of books in her arms.

"Hello, Professor," said Moody calmly, still bouncing the ferret higher.

"What-what are you doing?" she asked, her eyes following the ferret.

"Teaching," said Moody.

"Teach-Moody, _is that a student?" _shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms.

"Yep," said Moody.

"No!" cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her wand; a moment later, Draco appeared, lying in a heap on the floor with his sleek blond hair all over his brilliantly pink face.

"Miss SnowPetal, will you please help Mr. Malfoy up?" said Professor McGonagall. She turned sharply to Moody. "Moody, we _never _use transfiguration as a punishment! Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"

"He might've mentioned it, yeah," said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly, "but I thought a good sharp shock-"

"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of House!"

"I'll do that then," said Moody.

In a half-sympathetic-half irritated-manner, Levina offered Draco her hand. He stared at it blankly as Professor McGonagall and Moody argued behind them.

"I'm not going to kick you when you're down," said Levina with a roll of her eyes. "Literally, I mean. So get up."

"Why'd you tell him to stop?" said Draco with a look of disbelief.

"Because I'm not a terrible person, like you," said Levina through gritted teeth. "Not take my hand before I change my mind and slug you."

Draco reached out and took her hand in his; she pulled him to his feet and he turned to Moody malevolently, muttering something in which the words "my father" were distinguishable.

"Oh yeah?" said Moody. "Well, I know your father of old, boy...You tell him Moody's keeping an eye close on his son...you tell him that from me...Now, your head of House'll be Snape will it?"

"Yes," said Draco resentfully.

"Another old friend," said Moody. "I've been looking forward to a chat with old Snape...Come on, you..."

And he seized Draco's upper arm and marched him off toward the dungeons.

"Don't talk to me," said Ron quietly when they sat down at the Gryffindor table a few minutes later.

"Why not?" said Hermione in surprise.

"Because I want to fix that in my memory forever. Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret..."

Hermione, Harry, and Levina laughed, and Hermione began doling beef casserole onto each of their plates.

"He could have really hurt Malfoy, though," said Hermione. "It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it-"

"Hermione!" said Ron furiously. "You're ruining the best moment of my life."

Then Ron rounded on Levina. "Speaking of which, what the hell is wrong with you? Sticking up for _Malfoy?"_

"I'm just saying he could have been seriously injured, and then we'd have another situation with his father and the school," said Levina calmly, but she really didn't actually know why she had felt bad for him.

"Finally you agree with me on something," said Hermione. She began eating at top speed again.

"Don't tell me you're going back to the library this evening?" said Harry.

"Got to," said Hermione. "Loads to do."

"But you told us Professor Vector-"

"It's not schoolwork," she said. Within five minutes, she had cleared her plate and departed.

"Sheesh," said Levinaas she tore off a chunk of bread from the loaf.

Fred Weasleydropped into Hermione's now-empty seat.

"Moody!" he said. "How cool is he?"

"Beyond cool," said George, sitting down opposite Fred.

"Super cool," said Lee Jordan, sliding into the seat beside George. "We had him this afternoon."

"What was it like?" said Harry eagerly.

"Never had a lesson like it," said Fred.

"He _knows, _man," said Lee.

"Knows what?" said Ron, leaning forward.

"What it's like to be out there _doing _it," said George.

Levina lifted her eyebrows. "Doing what?"

"Fighting the Dark Arts," said Fred.

"He's seen it all," said George.

"'Mazing," said Lee.

Levina pulled out her schedule and examined it. "Aw, we haven't got him till Thursday!"

* * *

The Gryffindor fourth years were so excited for Professor Moody's lesson that they all arrived early before the bell had even rung.

Levina, Hermione, Harry, and Ron all took a table together directly at the front. They took out their copies of _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _and waited, unusually quiet. Soon they heard Moody's clunking footsteps coming down the corridor and he entered into the room.

"You can put those away," he growled, stumping over to his desk and sitting down, "those books. You won't need them."

Levina excitedly stowed her book back into her bag. Was this going to be another hands-on lesson like the boggart with Lupin?

"Right then," he said after calling out their names for role call. "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures-you've covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves," Levina flinched, "is that right?"

There was a general murmur of assent.

"But you're behind-very behind-on dealing with curses," said Moody. "So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark-"

"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out.

Moody's eye swiveled to look at Ron, who looked apprehensive, but after a moment Moody smiled-the first time Levina had seem him do so.

"You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh? Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago...Yeah, I'm staying just one year. Special favor to Dumbledore...One year, then back to my quiet retirement."

He gave a harsh laugh, and then clapped his hands together.

"So-straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you countercurses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until your in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then.

"But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking."

Lavender jumped and blushed. She had been showing Parvati her horoscope under the desk. Apparently Moody's magical eye could see through wood, as well as out of the back of his head.

"So...do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"

Levina kept her hand firmly at her side. She knew all too well about one of them, but she didn't care to say it out loud.

"Er," said Ron tentatively when Moody pointed to him, "my dad told me one...Is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?"

"Ah, yes, your father_ would _know that one. Gave the ministry a lot of trouble at the time, the Imperius Curse."

Moody got to his feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three large black spiders were scuttling around in it. Ron recoiled slightly beside Levina and she shuddered. She and Ron hated spiders.

Moody reached into the jar, caught one in the palm of his hand, and muttered, _"Imperio!"_

The spider leapt from Moody's hand in a fine line of thread and silk and began to swing back and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rapidly, then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance.

Everyone was laughing-except Moody.

"Think it's funny, do you?" he growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

The laughter died away almost instantly.

"Total control. I could make it jump out the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats..."

Levina flinched again and Ron gave an involuntary shudder.

"Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?"

Yet again Levina grabbed the side of her chair and clenched it hard. To her surprise, Neville's hand hesitantly rose.

"Yes?" said Moody.

"There's one-the Cruciatus Curse," said Neville in a small but distinct voice.

"You're name's Longbottom?"

Neville nodded nervously.

Moody reached into the jar for the next spider and placed it on the desk. He said, "_Engorgio!" _and the spider swelled so that it was no larger than a tarantula. "Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea," he explained.

Moody raised his wand again, pointed it, and muttered, "_Crucio!"_

At once, the spider's legs bent in upon its body; it rolled over and began to twitch horribly, rocking from side to side. No sound came from it, but Levina had a feeling if it had a voice it would be screaming. The spider started to shudder and jerk more violently.

Suddenly, Levina caught sight of Neville out of the corner of her eye, who looked horrified, his knuckles white and his eyes wide. She looked from him to the spider.

"Stop it!" said Levina and Hermione at the exact same time.

Moody raised his wand and muttered, "_Reducio."_

He placed it back into the jar and Levina relaxed slightly, but her eyes were still on Neville, who still looked terrified.

"Pain," said Moody softly. "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone. Right...anyone know any others?"

Levina swallowed hard. She could feel everyone's eyes behind her go to their table where Harry was sitting.

Next to her, Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes?" said Moody.

"_Avada Kedavra," _she whispered.

"Ah," said Moody. "Yes, the last and worst. _Avada Kedavra_...the Killing Curse." He reached into the jar and placed the last spider on the desk.

Levina hastily looked away and shut her eyes.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

Even with her eyes closed, Levina saw a blinding green light through her eyelids and heard a whooshing sound. When she opened them, the spider was dead.

"Not nice," he said calmly, sweeping it off the desk. "Not pleasant. And there's no countercurse. No blocking it. Only one person has ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me."

Levina peered over at Harry, who's face reddened.

"All right there, SnowPetal?" Moody growled.

Levina jumped, startled. "W...what?" she asked.

"You look pale. Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?"

Levinahadn't realized it, but when she touched her forehead, it had beads of sweat on it, and her hands did indeed look very white.

"Actually, yeah," she said quietly. She was all to aware of everyone's stares as she got up and left the room.

As she walked down the empty corridor, she could feel her head pounding painfully and her stomach began churning.

Halfway down the hall, she merely slumped against one of the walls. She didn't feel like going all the way up to the hospital wing, so she dropped onto a bench and shook her head. Flashes of images of green light and her mother's features ran through her mind rapidly like a poorly-made movie. A loud scream seemed to echo down the hallway.

When the bell finally rang, she'd managed to clear her mind enough to stand up and head down to the Great Hall, where she found a seat next to Hermione.

"Are you all right?" said Hermione between bites of food; she was eating at a rapid pace again. "You don't look as pale."

"I'm fine," said Levina. "Just a mild headache."

"Well, you're in the same boat as Harry, then," said Ron; Harry was frowning at his plate.

"What happened to Neville?"

"He's having tea with Moody," said Harry.

"_Why?" _said Levina. Neville was clearly afraid of Moody.

"Moody invited him," said Ron with a shrug. "Pass the bread, will you?"

Back in the Gryffindor Tower, Levina, Ron, and Harry went up to their dorms to get their Divination homework. Katie Bell and Parvati were already there, doing their own homework on their beds.

"Can't believe we don't have Quidditch this year," said Katie gloomily as she scribbled something onto her paper.

"I know!" said Levina, pulling out her Diviniation homework from her bag. "And I just polished my broom, too..."

When she returned to the common room, she, Harry, and Ron found a table and set to work on their predictions for the coming month. An hour later, they had made little progress and their table was littered with bits of parchment bearing sums and symbols.

"That's wrong," said Levina with a frustrated groan, crumpling up her paper and tossing it for the fourth time.

"I haven't got a clue what this lot's supposed to mean," said Harry.

"You know," said Ron, "I think it's back to the old Divination standby."

"Wha-make it up?" said Harry.

"Yeah," said Ron.

"Best idea I've heard all night," said Levina, dipping her quill into her ink and pulling out more parchment.

"Next monday," said Ron as he scribbled, "I am likely to develop a cough, owing to the unlikely conjunction of mars and Jupiter. You know her-just put in loads of misery, she'll lap it up."

"Right," said Harry. "Okay...on Monday, _I _will be in danger of-err-burns."

"Yeah, you will be, we're seeing the skrewts again on Monday."

"On Monday, I will obtain yet another horrible headache," said Levina.

"Same goes for me," said Harry. "Can I use that one?"

"Sure, just change the wording on it."

"Okay, Tuesday, _I'll..._erm..."

"Lose a treasured possession," said Harry, who was flicking through _Unfogging the Future _for ideas.

"Good one," said Ron, copying it down. "Because of...erm...Mercury. Why don't you get stabbed in the back by someone you thought was your friend?"

"Yeah...cool...because...Venus is in the twelfth house."

Levina tapped her quill against her cheek, thinking. "And I will forget something critical to my grades."

"Nice one," said Harry.

They continued to make up predictions for another hour, while the common room slowly emptied and went up to bed. Crookshanks, accompanied by Lilypad, wandered over to them.

"You two are becoming close, aren't you?" said Levina, stroking Lilypad's cheek.

Crookshanks purred happily.

As Levina finished her last tragedies and passed her paper to Ron, she caught notice of the twins sitting together in a corner, poring over a piece of parchment and whispering inaudible things. Levina got to her feet and walked over to them.

"Whatcha doin'?"

The twins hit their heads together in surprise as they looked up.

"Work," said George.

"That's a lie," said Levina confidently, sliding in beside them. "Why so secretive?"

"I think we can tell her, George," said Fred.

George eyed Levina accusingly, but he slid the sheet of paper out so she could see it; it was a letter.

"Bagman," Fred whispered with a serious expression. "Bagman defaulted on our bet. He gave us Leprechaun gold-"

"-which disappears," finished George. "We're writing to him."

"I bet it was on purpose!" said Levina angrily. "Can I help?"

Fred laughed. "That's what I love about you." He handed her the quill. "We're trying to see if it was just a mistake by sending him this letter."

"How about, 'I know you gave us fake money on purpose, you lying, cheating-'"

"No-that sounds like we're accusing him. Got to be careful," said Fred.

"We _are _accusing him," said Levina, but nevertheless, she tried to think of something kinder to put.

Once they'd done the last finishing touches, Fred and George rolled it up and said a quick goodnight, heading up to the guy's dormitory. Just then, the common room door swung open and Hermione entered carrying a rattling box and a sheaf of parchment.

"Hello," she said, "I've just finished!"

"So have I!" said Ron triumphantly, handing Levina her paper back.

Hermione pulled his predictions towards her. "Not having a very good month, are you?"

"Well, at least I'm forewarned," Ron yawned.

"You seem to be drowning twice," said Hermione.

"Oh am I? I better change one of them to getting trampled by a rampaging hippogriff."

"Levina, I don't think getting pushed off the Astronomy tower is within reason," said Hermione critically.

"It's just a very specific prediction," said Levina.

"Don't you think it's a bit obvious you've made these up?" said Hermione.

"How dare you!" said Ron. "We've been working like house-elves here!"

Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"It's just an expression," said Ron hastily.

"What's in the box?" said Levina and Harry together,

"Funny you should ask," said Hermione, with a nasty look at Ron. She took off the lid and Levina peered in to see at least fifty different-colored badges that read: S-P-E-W.

"Spew?" said Harry. "What's this about?"

"Not _spew,"_ said Hermione impatiently. "Its S-P-E-W. Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

"So...spew," said Levina.

"Never heard of it," said Ron.

"Well, of course you haven't," said Hermione briskly. "I've only just started it."

"Yeah?" said Ron in mild surprise. "How many members have you got?"

"Well-if you three join-four," said Hermione.

"Big group," said Levina sarcastically as she examined a blue one; Hermione ignored her.

"And you think we want to walk around wearing badges saying 'spew,' do you?" said Ron.

"S-P-E-W!" said Hermione hotly. "I was going to put _Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in their Legal Status-_but it wouldn't fit. So that's the heading of our manifesto."

Levina stared blankly at her as she brandished the sheaf of parchment at them.

"I've been researching it thoroughly in the library. Elf enslavement goes back for centuries. I can't believe no on'es done anyting about it before now."

"Hermione-open your ears," said Ron loudly. "They like it. They _like _being enslaved!"

"Y'know, I agree that they should be treated on more equal terms," said Levina, "but do you ever seen any elves complaining?"

"Our short term aims," said Hermione, speaking even more loudly than them, "are to secure house-elves fair wages and working conditions. Our long-term aims include changing the law about non-wand use, and trying to get an elf into the department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly underrepresented."

"Um," said Levina.

"And how do we do all this?" Harry asked.

"We start by recruiting members," said Hermione happily. "I thought two Sickles to join-that buys a badge-and the proceeds can fund our leaflet campaign. You're treasurer, Ron-I've got you a collecting tin upstairs-Harry, you're secretary, so you might want to write down everything I'm saying now, as a record of our first meeting. Levina-you'll cover advertisements, since you're good at art. I'd like you to begin on some posters and do some designs for future badges."

There was a pause in which Hermione beamed at them and Levina sat, completely dumbfounded. The silence was broken by a soft _tap, tap _on the window. Levina looked across the empty common room and saw, illuminated by the moonlight, a snowy owl perched on the windowill.

"Hedwig!" Harry shouted. He launched himself across the room and pulled open the window.

Hedwig flew inside, soared across the room, and landed on top of their predictions.

"About time!" said Harry.

"She's got an answer!" said Ron excitedly.

"So then Sirius is all right!" said Levina happily, running over to look at the note.

"What does it say?" Hermione asked breathlessly.

_Harry-_

_I'm flying north immediately. This news about your scar is the latest in a series of strange rumors that have reached me here. If it hurts again, go straight to Dumbledore-they're saying he's got Mad-Eye out of retirement, which means he's reading the signs, even if no one else is._

_I'll be in touch. My best to Ron, Hermione, and Levina. Keep your eyes open, Harry._

_Sirius._

_P.s, have Levina keep in touch frequently and report anything, any signs that she's read in the books._

Harry looked up at the three of them and Levina took the note to re-read.

"He's flying north?" Hermione whispered. "He's flying _back?"_

"Dumbledore's reading what signs?" said Ron, looking perplexed. "Harry-what's up?"

Harry had hit himself in the forehead.

"I shouldn't have told him!" said Harry furiously.

"What are you on about?" said Ron in surprise.

"It's made him think he's got to come back! Come back, because he thinks I'm in trouble! And there's nothing wrong with me! And I haven't got anything for you," he snapped at Hedwig, who was clicking her beak expectantly, "you'll have to go up to the Owlery if you want food."

"Harry!" said Levina.

Hedwig cuffed Harry in the head with her wing and Levina took the owl onto her own shoulder. "I'll get you an Owl treat, Hedwig." She shot Harry and angry look. "Sirius needed to know, Harry! It's not your fault."

"Harry," said Hermione.

"I'm going to bed," said Harry shortly. "See you in the morning."

As he stormed up the stairs, Levina grabbed a box of Owl treats out of her bag and passed Hedwig two. Hedwig nipped her ear affectionately and nuzzled her cheek with her feathers.

Hedwig took off through the open window and Levina turned to face the others.

"Sirius needed to hear about it," said Levina seriously.

"I know," said Hermione, "but he's not going to listen to anything we say right now."

"I hope he'll calm down more tomorrow," said Levina as she stuffed her books back into her bag.

Ron still looked bewildered, so Levina rolled up her homework and headed up to the girl's dormitory with Hermione, where they pulled on their pajamas and climbed into their beds.

Levina rolled onto her side and stared out the window. Lilypad curled up in a ball at the foot of her bed and purred softly while Crookshanks followed Hermione to her bed.

She knew Harry would send Sirius a letter to convince him he was fine, which was an utter lie. If she sent one with Athena telling the truth, Harry would be sure to find out.

But was Sirius really going to come there?

* * *

**Yet again, I apologize greatly for the delay. I'll do my best to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, but in the meantime I need to fix my laptop so I can post chapters sooner. **

**Things to come: The Goblet of fire, Ageing potions, beards, and more.**

**Review :)**


	5. Three Schools, Four Champions?

**Good news: My laptop's been fixed, but it probably won't be sent back for a while, so thank for all of your support and I'll do my best to keep up with this story. Thanks for all your support.**

**Flyingwerecats: Thanks, haha I do that too now when I read the series. And as for the space issue, the old computer I'm typing on has a really crappy spacebar that you have to press down hard; sorry, I'll try to make sure I go back over my stories more often.**

**Savvygurl101LunaRachel: Cat love! I laughed when I read that :). Anyways, thanks, better late than never, right? (Especially since I've been so late in my updates. Ah, the Levina and Draco romance has just begun...I can't wait to get to the Sixth book!:))**

**Disclaimer: Sorry if you didn't read the last fifty disclaimers and still think I'm JK Rowling. Because I'm not.**

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks, Harry acted slightly distant and nervous with frequent glances over his shoulders, as though Sirius might appear out from behind a bush. Levina wished they still had Quidditch; she longed for the feel of the wind in her hair, the sun on her cheeks...now, she wouldn't be able to experience it once more till next year.

To their surprise, Mad-eye Moody had announced that he would be putting the Imperius Curse on each of them in turn, to demonstrate the power and see whether they could resist its effects.

"But-but you said it's illegal, Professor," said Hermione uncertainly as Moody cleared away the desks, leaving a large space in the room.

"Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like," said Moody, unblinking. "If you'd rather learn the hard way-when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely-fine by me. You're excused. Off you go."

Hermione went very pink and grew quiet. Each of the students went up and took their turns, doing extraordinary tricks under its influence. No one but Harry was able to semi-resist it.

When Harry went up, he awkwardly did some sort of bend of the knees, but when he jumped, he hit te desk and knocked it over, crumpling in pain.

"Now, _that's _more like it!" growled Moody. "Look at that, you lot...Potter fight it, and he damn near beat it! SnowPetal, you're up next."

Levina hesitantly stepped in the circle. The moment the curse hit, Levina had a strange compelling urge to begin tap dancing. Her legs began to move on their own accord as though with minds of their own. But...why was she tap dancing? A second voice in her head seemed to argue about this decision. Since when did she even know how to tap dance?

Suddenly, as she pulled away from the curse, she tripped over her own feet and landed flat on her face. There was some small laughter among the crowd.

"See!" said Moody, who, Levina was thankful to see, was not laughing. "_That's _how you do it! She nearly beat the whole damn thing down!"

As the day progressed, all of the teachers seemed to be adding three times the workload to their students in preparation for their OWLs, which weren't even till fifth year.

Snape had forced them each to search antidotes. They took this seriously, since Snape had hinted he would be poisoning one of them before Christmas to see if their antidote worked.

Even Hagrid had them doing extra visits to the skrewts, which Levina couldn't even pretend to be pleased with.

"Alternate nights?" she repeated through gritted teeth formed into an incredibly awkward smile.

"Yup!"

"I will not," said Draco flatly. "I see enough of these foul things during lessons, thanks."

Hagrid's smile faded.

"Yeh'll do what yer told," he growled, "or I'll be takin' a leaf outta Professor Moody's book... I hear ya made a good ferret, Malfoy."

The Gryffindors roared with laughter all the way to the entrance hall where there was a large crowd gathered in front of a huge sign that read:

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

The Delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o' clock on Friday the 30th of October. Lessons will end half and hour early-

"Brilliant!" said Harry. "It's Potions last thing on Friday! Snape won't have time to poison us all!"

"Yeah, but he'll probably find time to poison you and me," said Levina.

"Only a week away!" said Ernie Macmillan. "I wonder if Cedric knows? I think I'll go and tell him..."

"Cedric?" said Ron blankly.

"Diggory," said Harry. "He must be entering the tournament."

"He's old enough?" said Levina; Harry nodded.

"That idiot, Hogwarts champion?" said Ron.

"He's not an idiot," said Hermione. "You just don't like him because he beat Gryffindor at Quidditch."

"You only like him because he's _handsome," _said Ron scathingly.

"Excuse me, I don't lie people just because they're handsome!"

Ron gave a loud fake cough that sounded like, "_Lockhart!"_

* * *

When they went down to breakfast on the morning of the thirtieth of October, they found that the Great Hall had been decorated with silk banners representing each Hogwarts house, and there was a huge banner that bore all of the Hogwarts coats of arms behind the teacher's table.

Levina sat beside Fred and George, who were huddled together again as they usually were these days, conversing in low voices.

"Hi," said Levina cheerfully.

"Hey," said Fred and George; they looked up to smile at her but returned to their conversation.

"It's a bummer, all right," said George gloomily to Fred. "But if he won't talk to us in person, we'll just have to send him the letter by hand. He can't avoid us forever."

"Who's avoiding you?" said Ron, sitting down next to George.

"Wish you would," said Fred, looking irritated at the interruption.

"What's a bummer?" Ron asked George.

"Having a nosy git like you for a brother," said George.

"How's it coming, then?" said Levina.

Fred sighed. "Not too good. He's refusing to talk to us."

"Who is?" said Ron, turning on Levina. "You know what they're talking about?"

"Yes," said Levina.

"Well?" demanded Ron persistently. "What, then?"

"What makes you think I'd tell you?" said Levina, grinning at Ron's angry frown. Fred winked at her.

"You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament?" Harry asked.

"I asked McGonagall how the champions were chosen, but she wasn't telling," said George bitterly. "She just told me to shut up and continue Transfiguring my raccoon."

Levina yawned lazily and stretched. She spooned oatmeal into a bowl and poured a goblet of pumpkin juice. She frequently looked up towards the Owlerly; she had sent a letter recently to Sirius about the color-changing ability she'd had at the Quidditch Cup.

"What are you on about?" said Ron. Levina turned to look at him and Hermione.

"_House-elves!" _said Hermione. "Not once, in a thousand pages or more, does_ Hogwarts, a History _mention that we are all colluding in the oppression of a hundred house-elves."

Levina rolled her eyes, spooning scrambled eggs onto a plate; Fred looked down at his bacon, having refused to buy a SPEW badge, but George leaned over and said, "Listen, have you ever been down in the kitchens, Hermione?"

"No, of course not," said Hermione curtly, "I hardly think students are supposed to-"

"Well, we have," said George, "loads of times, to nick food. And they're _happy. _They think they've got the best job in the world-"

"That's because they're uneducated and brainwashed!" said Hermione hotly.

"_Hermione-" _Levina began, but she was drowned out by a sudden whooshing from overhead as the morning mail was delivered.

Hedwig fluttered in amongst the owls and dropped in on Harry's shoulder, followed closely by Athena.

Harry unfolded his letter and, looking over his shoulder, he bent down to whisper the letter to Ron, Hermione, and Levina.

"Why d'you have to keep changing owls?" said Ron in a low voice, scanning the page over.

"Hedwig'll attract too much attention," said Hermione. "She stands out. A snowy owl that keeps returning to wherever he's hiding...I mean, they're not native birds, are they?"

Athena held out her leg and Levina took her own letter from her. It read:

_Levina,_

_Changing colors on command isn't very common, and for all I know could be dangerous. I suggest that you not meddle with it at least until I can gather more information._

_Sirius._

"Dangerous?" said Levina skeptically as she folded it up and tucked it safely into her robes. "In what way?"

"Well..." said Hermione, "you never know...sometimes innocent things can turn out to be very Dark magic."

"Still, it's just colors...I should made Malfoy's hair purple..."

After Potions that afternoon, Levina, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurried up to the common room, deposited their bags, pulled on their cloaks, and rushed back downstairs to the entrance hall.

The Heads of Houses were ordering their students into lines.

"Weasley, straighten your hair," Professor McGonagall snapped. "Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."

Parvati scowled and removed a large ornamental butterfly from her hair.

They filed down the steps to the front of the castle and Levina stood in between Harry and Ron.

"Nearly six," said Ron. "How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?"

"I doubt it," said Hermione.

"How, then? Broomsticks?" Harry suggested, looking up at the starry sky.

"I don't think so...not from that far away..."

"Floo Powder?" said Levina.

"No," said Hermione.

"A portkey?" Ron suggested. "Or they could Apparate-maybe you're allowed to do it under seventeen wherever they come from?"

"You can't Apparate inside Hogwarts ground, how often do I have to tell you?" said Hermione impatiently.

Levina frowned up at the sky, becoming impatient as she scanned the area. Then, something caught her eye.

"That's-" Levina began.

"Aha! The delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!" called Dumbledore.

"Where?" said many students eagerly.

"There, there!" shouted Levina excitedly.

A huge, powder-blue horse-drawn carriage was approaching fast; it was run by a dozen winged horses the size of elephants.

"Whoa!" said Levina.

"It's a dragon!" shrieked one of the first years.

"Don't be stupid...it's a flying house!" said Dennis.

The carriage, before they could react, came crashing down and landed heavily onto the ground before them.

A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forward, fumbled with something, and unfolded a set of golden steps. A moment later, a black heel stepped out, followed by the largest woman Levina had ever seen in her life. A few people gasped.

The students, following Dumbledore's lead, began applauding as she walked towards him.

"My dear Madame Maxime," said Dumbledore, kissing her hand. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dorr," said Maxime in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, I thank you," said Dumbledore.

As Maxime was invited in to warm up, a dozen boys and girls dressed in blue silk emerged from the carriage, shivering, since their cloathing was so light.

"How big d'you reckon Durmstrang's horses are going to be?" said Seamus Finnigan.

"Well, if they're any bigger than this lot, Hagrid won't be able to handle them," said Harry. "Tht's if he hasn't been attacked by the skrewts. Wonder what's up with them?"

"Maybe they've escaped," said Ron hopefully.

"Oh, don't say that," said Hermione with a shudder. "Imagine that lot loose on the grounds..."

Levina shivered. "Ugh, that would be horrible."

Suddenly, there was an eerie, muffled rumbling noise, like water being sucked from a riverbed...

"Can you hear something?" said Ron.

"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan. "Look!"

Levina turned her attention to the lake, where great bubbles were forming under it. There was a whirlpool, and, suddenly, a huge mast of a ship emerged, followed by an enormous boat, which gleamed in the moonlight. There was a splash as the anchor was thrown down and several large figures came into the light as they disembarked.

All of the students seemed bulky and well-built like Crabbe and Goyle. At the very front, a man with a goatee and short white hair.

"Dumbledore!" he called heartily up the slope. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karakoff," Dumbledore replied.

"Dear old Hogwarts...How good it is to be here, how good...Viktor, come along, into the warmth...you don't mind, Dumbleodre? Viktor has a slight head cold..."

Levina's jaw dropped; the boy, who was being addressed, had dark eyebrows and a familiar face-

"_It's Krum!" _hissed Ron excitedly. "I don't believe it! Krum, Harry! Levina, look! It's _Viktor Krum!"_

_"_Yes, Ron, we get it!" said Levina.

"For heavens sake, Ron, he's only a Quidditch player," said Hermione.

"_Only a Quidditch Player?" _said Ron, looking at Hermione in disbelief. "Hermione-he's one of the best Seekers in the world! I had no idea he was still at school!"

They walked over to the Gryffindortable and sat down. Beauxbatons had chosen to sit at the Ravenclaw table, and they all looked glum, still clutching their shalws around their heads.

"It's not _that _cold," said Hermione defensively. "Why didn't they bring cloaks?"

"Maybe it's warmer where they're from...?"

"Over here! Come and sit over here!" Ron hissed. "Over here! Hermione, budge up, made a space-"

"What?"

"Too late."

Viktor Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students had settled themselves at the Slytherin table. Levina could see Draco looking very smug about this, bending over to speak to Krum.

"Yeah, that's right, smarm up to him, Malfoy," said Ron scathingly. "I bet Krum can see right through him, though...bet he gets people fawning over him all the time...Where d'you reckon they're going to sleep? We could offer him a space in our dormitory, Harry...I wouldn't mind giving him my bed, I could kip on a camp bed."

"I highly doubt they're sleepingin our common rooms," said Levina.

"They look a lot happier than the Beauxbatons lot," said Harry.

Levina looked over at the Durmstrangs, who were pulling off their heavy furs, examing the goblets, and looking at the starry ceiling with interest.

Once everyone was seated but Dumbledore, he finally began his speech:

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and-most particularly-guests. I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

One of the Beauxbaton girls clutching a mufler gave an unmistakably derisive laugh.

"No one's making you stay!" Hermione whispered, bristling at her.

"The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," said Dumbledore. "I now invite you to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

The plates in front of them filled with food, as usual, but there was a greater variety of dishes, including some that were definetly foreign.

"What's _that?" _said Ron, pointing at a large steak-and-kidney pudding.

"Bouillabaisse," said Hermione.

"Bless you," said Ron.

"It's _French," _said Hermione. "I had it on holiday summer before last. It's very nice."

"I'll take your word for it," said Ron.

"I'd prefer just simply steak," said Levina.

She tore hungrily into a large chunk and noticed Hermione's disapproving look.

"What? I can't live off of vegetables, you know."

Hermione merely rolled her eyes and continued eating.

"Oh, hi, Hagrid!" called Levina; Hagrid had slid into his seat at the end of the table.

"Skrewts doing all right, Hagrid?' called Harry.

"Thrivin'!" said Hagrid back happily.

"Yeah, I'll just bet they are," said Ron quietly. "Looks like they finally found a food they like, doesn't it? Hagrid's fingers."

At that moment, a voice said, "Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouilabaisse?"

It was the girl from beauxbatons who had laughed during Dumbledore's speech. She had long silvery-blonde hair and very white, even teeth. Her eyes were deep blue.

"Yeah, have it," said Harry.

"You 'ave finished wiz it?"

"Yup," said Levina.

"Yeah," said Ron breathlessly. "Yeah, it was excellent."

Levina stared at Ron; he'd gone very purple and was goggling at her as she went to sit back down.

Harry and Levina laughed at him and he finally stopped staring.

"She's a _veela!" _he said hoarsley.

"You're joking," said Levina, rolling her eyes.

"Of course she isn't!" said Hermione tartly. "I don't see anyone else gaping at her like an idiot."

"Actually-" said Levina looking around as many other boys' heads turned in her direction. "-they are."

"I'm telling you, that's not a normal girl!" said Ron, leaning sideways so he could keep a clear view of her. "They don't made them like that at Hogwarts."

"_I beg your pardon?" _said Levina, turning on Ron with firey eyes. Ron shrunk a bit under her glare.

"They make them okay at Hogwarts," said Harry randomly; Levina followed his eyes over to the Ravenclaw table, where Cho was sitting. Levina laughed.

"When you've put your eyes back in," said Hermione briskly, "you'll be able to see who's just arrived."

Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch had arrived and were sitting at the staff table.

"What are _they _doing here?" said Harry.

"They organized the Tournament, didn't they?" said Hermione. "I suppose they wanted to behere to see it start."

When the second course arrived, Levina helped herself to some sort of cake with white icicng, grinning as she watched Ron push several dishes into view so the girl from before could see them. She did not come to get it.

"The moment has come," said Dumbledore when they had finished eating. "The Triwizard tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words before we bring in the casket-"

"The what?" Levina and Harry muttered together.

Dumbledore explained the rest and introduced Ludo and Mr. Crouch. Finally, he had Filch bring in a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels.

As he continued, Levina's eyes never left the chest, which she was looking at in awe. What was he going to do with it?

Dumbledore reached inside and pulled out a roughly hewn wooden cup. It was full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as a champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation, I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet. "

Levina's eyes went to the goblet, which would have looked very unimpressive had in not been filled with the flames.

"Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

"An Age Line!" Fred said, his eyes glinting. "Well, that should be fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn't it? And once your name's in that goblet, you're laughing-it can't tell whether you're seventeen or not!"

"But Dumbledore knows," said Levina sadly. "He'd probably not let you in,"

"I don't think anyone under seventen will stand a chance," said Hermione, "we just haven't learned enough..."

"Speak for yourself," said George shortly. "You'll try and get in, won't you, Harry?"

"Back to the ship, then." Karakoff was leading the Durmstrang students away from the Great Hall.

Levina, Harry, Ron, and Hermione held the door open for him.

"Thank you," he said carelessly, glancing at them.

And then Karakoff froze. He turned hishead back to Harry and Levina, as though he couldn't believe his eyes. Durmstrang came to a halt too.

"Yeah, that's Harry Potter and Levina SnowPetal," growled a voice behind them.

Mad-eye Moody was standing there, leaning heavily on his staff.

The color drained from Karakoff's face. A terrible look of mingled fury and fear came over him.

Levina looked from one to the other, confused

"You!" he said, staring as though unsire it was really him.

"Me," said Moody grimly. "And unless you've got anything to say to Potter or SnowPetal, Karakoff, you might want to move. You're blocking the doorway."

It was true; half the students were now waiting behind them.

Without another word, Karakoff swept away with his students towards the ship.

* * *

Levina got up earlier than usual and went downstairs to where, in the entrance hall, they saw the Goblet of Fire lined with people circled around it. A thin golden line was traced ten feet around it in every direction.

"Anyone put their name in yet?" Ron asked a third-year girl eagerly.

"All the Durmstrang lot," she replied. "But I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet."

"Bet some of them put it in last night ater we'd all gone to bed," said Harry. "I would've if it had been me...wouldn't have wanted everyone watching. What if the goblet just gobbed you right back out?"

Someone laughed. They turned around to see Fred, Lee, and George hurrying down towards them, looking excited.

"Done it," said Fred in a triumphant whisper. "Just taken it."

"What?" said Ron.

"The Aging Potion, dung brains," said Fred.

"One drop each," said George, rubbing his hands together with glee. "We only need to be a few months older. "

"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," said Hermione warningly. "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this."

Fred, George, and Lee ignored her.

"Wish me luck," said Fred to Levina. "Ready? C'mon then, I'll go first-"

Fred pulled out a piece of parchment with his name and school on it, strode right up to the line, and stepped over.

For a split-second nothing happened; George let out a yell of triumph and jumped in after him, but there was a sudden sizzling sound and both twins were hurled out of the circle, landing painfully, ten feet away. To add insult to the injury, they had sprouted identical beards.

The entrance hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and examined each other's beards.

"I did warn you," said a deep, amused voice, and Dumbledore came out of the Great Hall, eyes twinkling. "I suggest you go up to Madame Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Sumers, of Huflepuff. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours."

They entered the Halloween-decorated Great Hall and took their seats next to Dean and Seamus.

"We can't have a Slytherin champion!"

"Who're you talking about?" said Levina.

"That Warrington guy," said Dean.

"And all the Hufflepuffs are talking about Diggory," said Seamus. "But I wouldn't have thoughyt he'd have wanted to risk his good looks."

"Listen!" said Hermione suddenly.

There was cheering in the entrance hall; Angelina Johnson entered the Hall, grinning with an embarrassed look.

"Well, I've done it!" she said to them. "Just put me name in!"

"You're kidding!" said Ron, looking impressed.

"Are you seventeen, then?" said Harry.

"Brilliant!" said Levina.

"'Course she is, can't see a beard, can you?" said Ron.

"I had my birthday last week," said Angelina.

"Well, I'm glad someone from Gryffindor's entering," said Hermione. "I really hope you get it, Angelina!"

"The Goblet better choose you!" said Levina happily. "That would be amazing!"

"Thanks, Hermione, Levina," she said, smiling at them.

"What're we going to do today, then?" said Ron as they finished up breakfast.

"We haven't been to visit Hagrid yet," said Harry.

"Ohh," groaned Levina. "I can't. I promised Fred, Lee, and George I'd practice Quidditch with them."

"But we don't even have it this year!" said Ron.

"I know," said Levina. "But I miss playing it. Tell him I said hi!"

Levina got to her feet and made her way up to the Hospital Wing. When she entered, she saw that the Hufflepuff boy and Ravenclaw girl were still there. Lee was still chortling, standing by Fred and George in the back of the room.

"Forgotten about Quidditch?" said Levina.

"Oh, right," said George. He and Fred only had grey stubble on their faces now. "I almost forgot!"

"The beards are almost gone," said Fred happily, feeling his chin.

"Pomfrey said they'll be gone in about a few minutes," said George. "Come on, let's go."

Levina followed the trio out to the pitch, where they 'borrowed' a few brooms from the locker room, which was easily unlocked with _Alohomora._

"I'll be a Beater," said George.

"Chaser," said Fred.

"I'll be Keeper," said Lee.

"Then I'll be Seeker!" said Levina excitedly.

Fred and George enchanted a rock to fly on its own accord, since they didn't have a snitch, and they let it go so it shot off into the sky.

They mounted their brooms and took off, feeling the wind rustle their hair. Levina did a flip in mid-air, breathing in the fresh scent. Sure, she prefered whacking Bludgers at Slytherins and knocking them off their brooms, but flying in general was good enough for her.

As it turned out, Levina was not up for the job of being a Seeker; several times she grabbed for the rock and dropped straight off her broom. Other times she flat out lost it and had to go all over the sky searching.

No one but George seemed to be doing well; Lee continued to slip awkwardly off his own broom and he even went through the hoop he was protecting several times; Fred had trouble getting the quaffle into the hoop, even with Lee doing a bad job of protecting it.

In the end, however, all four of them were laughing as they returned the brooms to the locker rooms.

"I don't think I'm cut out for being a Seeker," said Levina as she wiped dirt off her arms.

"I noticed," said Fred. "I especially liked when you went straight into the bleachers after it."

"Oh, shut up," said Levina, punching his arm playfully.

When they reached the filled Great Hall, Levina found a seat by Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Hagrid fancies Maxime!" said Ron the moment Levina sat down.

"What?" said Levina. "You're joking."

"No, really!" said Ron. "Look at what he's wearing!"

Levina looked up at the staff table and, indeed, Hagrid was wearing the same hairy brown suit from Buckbeak's appeal and a yellow-and-orange tie. Even his hair looked awful, slicked back at an attempt to tame it.

"And he thinks she'd like that?"

"You should have smelled his cologne..." said Hermione, scrunching up her face in disgust.

"Who d'you think's going to win?" said Levina.

"Hope it's Angelina," said Fred.

"So do I!" said Hermione. "Well, we'll soon know!"

Levina helped herself to enough sweets, pastries, and candies to make herself sick. She sipped at her pumpkin juice and took a chocolate cauldron just as the plates cleared themselves. She turned to look at the goblet in excitement.

The candles were extinguished and Levina eagerly watched. Suddenly, the fire inside it went red, and sparks began to fly out of it. A charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it, which Dumbledore caught.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, "will be Viktor Krum!"

"No surprise there!" yelled Ron as a storm of aplause and cheering swept through the hall.

"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Karakoff as Krum rose from the Slytherin table and made his way through a door on the right of the staff table. "Knew you had it in you!"

The clapping and chatting died down as a second piece of parchment propelled out of the flames.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"

"It's her, Ron!" said Harry as the girl who resembled a veela got gracefully to her feet and swept up between the tables.

"Oh look, they're all disappointed," said Hermione over the noise, but Levina though it was a bit of an understatement; two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears and were sobbing into their arms. Only a small group among them was applauding heavily.

"Can't they just be happy for her?" said Levina.

The third one flew out and Levina crossed her fingers, shooting Angelina a thumbs up. There was an incredibe silence as Dumbledore caught it.

"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!"

"No!" said Ron loudly, but he was drowned out by heavy applause from the Hufflepuffs.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real-"

Dumbledore stopped speaking; Levina gasped as, behind him, the goblet had gone red again. It sparked up and a piece of parchment soared into the air. Dumbledore caught it and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause. Then Dumbledore cleared his throat.

_"Harry Potter."_

Levina could just about feel her jaw dropped as she rounded on him, eyes wide. Harry looked just as shocked and bewildered as she was, his green eyes stretched and puzzled. He turned and looked at her.

"I didn't put my name in," he said blankly. "You know I didn't."

Hermione and Ron didn't say anything. Levina swallowed hard.

"Harry Potter!" called Dumbledore. "Harry! Up here, if you please!"

"Go on," Hermione whispered.

Very slowly, Harry got to his feet, headed down the rows of tables, and disappeared through the dooron the right. There was horrible silence.

"Well, off to bed!" said Dumbledore. He turned to say something to Professor McGonagall and hurried off into the door a moment later.

Levina frowned at Ron and Hermione, got to her feet, and followed them out. Murmurs had begun to grow, and before long, the silence was filled with discussion.

As Levina headed for the stairs, still stunned, a third-year Hufflepuff girl next to her said nastily, "'Course Potter just _had _to enter himself...couldn't stand the thought of letting someone better than him get more glory..."

Levina turned and glared at her. "Oh, I hope you don't mean Cedric?"

The Hufflepuff girl went slightly pale. She turned, whispered something to her friend, and said, "Yeah, I do. It's obvious, isn't it? I mean, he put his name in the goblet and all-"

"Harry didn't enter himself," said Levina firmly, "and if you think otherwise, then you should go-"

And Levina said something she wouldn't have dared to if a teacher had been nearby.

"Levina!" squeaked Hermione, shocked.

The Hufflepuff girl looked fearful and retreated in the other direction with her friend.

Still fuming, Levina turned back to Hermione. "What? You don't actually think Harry did it?"

"Well-no, but-" Hermione spluttered.

"Where's Ron?" said Levina suddenly; he'd vanished.

"He was here a second ago," said Hermione. "You think he went to bed?"

"Maybe."

They made their way up to the dormitory in silence, which was only broken by the password.

"Balderdash," said Levina.

"What was all the commotion?" said the Fat Lady.

"Balderdash," said Levina again.

"Who's the Hogwarts champion?"

_"Balderdash," _said Levina throught gritted teeth.

"Fine, fine." The Fat Lady swung open to let them in. Hermione went straight for the dormitory without another word.

Levina was just about to join her when she was suddenly hoisted into the air.

"What the-"

Fred had scooped up Levina from behind and hoisted her over one of his shoulders.

"Harry Potter!" said Fred.

"The next Triwizard Champion!" said George behind him.

"You two do realize I'm not Harry?" said Levina, grinning. Fred re-placed her on the ground.

"Oh no, you're not Harry?" said Fred in mock-awe.

"How wrong we were indeed!" said George.

"Very funny," said Levina. "Are you actually _glad _he got in?"

"Well, as long as Diggory has some real competition-" said George

"-then yes," said Fred.

Levina rolled her eyes. "Hey, have you two seen Ron, by the way?"

"I think he's in the guy's dorm," said Fred. "Wait-where are you going?"

But Levina had already run up the steps to the guy's dormitory. Sure enough, Ron was sitting on one of the beds in the corner.

"Ron?"

"Oh hello, Levina." Ron didn't turn around to greet her, but he sounded very off. "Congrats to Harry, right?"

Levina frowned. "Congrats?"

"How d'you think he got past the Age Line?" said Ron, ignoring her persistence. "The Invisibility Cloak?"

"Don't be a prat," snapped Levina. "If Mrs. Norris can see through it, I'm sure an Age Line can."

"Of course not, you're right," said Ron, "because he would have let me under it too, then, right?"

"_Ron,_" said Levina, "Harry didn't do it. Someone else did, I just know it!"

"Why would someone enter him?"

"Well-well maybe they want to kill him, Ron! Did you ever think of that?"

Ron was looking at her now, all semi-kindness gone. "You should be getting to bed. I'm sure tomorrow they'll be announcing you're name in the Goblet, I bet you both did it together."

"Shut up!" Levina screamed. She took off one of her shoes and threw it at his head as hard as she could. "You ignorant ass!"

And with that, she stormed out of the dorm, leaving her shoe behind. The common room was noisy and Levina noticed that Harry had returned. She didn't feel up to facing him. Turning away, she dashed up the girl's dormitory steps and dropped onto her bed, seething with anger.

"Levina?" Hermione lifted her head up; she had been reading.

"Harry didn't enter himself," she said with certainty. And she pulled the covers up to her chin and rolled over, facing the window, hoping sleep would take her away.

* * *

That morning Levina woke unusually late. No one else was in the dormitory, but when she went downstairs, the common room was still full of people.

"Hi, Colin," she greeted Colin and Dennis Creevey, who were sitting at a table in the corner. "Seen Harry?"

"Yeah, he already left for breakfast."

Levina made her way down to the Great Hall, but as she searched the Gryffindor table, she found that he and Hermione were no where to be found. Ron was sitting on the end beside Seamus and Dean, but he still looked irritated, so Levina merely stacked a pile of toast and bacon on a napkin and took it out to eat alone in the courtyard.

Only by the time Herbology came around did Levina finally see Harry. They had the lesson with the Hufflepuffs, who had clear hatred for the Gryffindors and refused to talk to them. This made things increasingly awkward and Levina merely greeted Harry and Hermione and set off to work on repotting Bouncing Bulbs.

By the time they left and headed down to Hagrid's hut, Levina was finally pulled aside by Harry as they walked, who had rings under his eyes.

"You don't think I did it, do you?" said Harry.

"Of course not!" said Levina, jumping over a root in the ground. "Whether or not Ron wants to accept that is his own problem."

"Ah, look, boys, it's the champion," said a sudden voice.

Levina looked over her shoulder to see Draco Malfoy approaching with Crabbe and Goyle.

"Got your autograph books? Better get a signature now, because I doubt he's going to be around much longer...Half the wizard champions have died...how long d'you reckon you're going to last, Potter? Ten minutes into the first task's my bet."

"Yes, because _your _oppinion matters so much," said Levina. "You wouldn't last one minute, Malfoy."

Draco didn't retort, for Hagrid had emerged from behind his cabin balancing a teetering tower of crates. To the class's horror, Hagrid announced that the skrewts were killing each other due to pent-up energy, and that the solution was for each student to take it for a short walk.

"Take this thing for a walk?" Draco repeated in disgust. "And where exactly are we supposed to fix the leash? Around the sting, the blasting end, or the sucker?"

"Roun' the middle," said Hagrid, demonstrating. "Er-yeh might want ter put on yer dragon-hide gloves, jus' as an extra precaution, like. Harry-you come here an' help me with this big one..."

Levina knew Hagrid had chosen Harry so he could talk to him. She grabbed a leash off one of the crates and carefully wrapped it around the midsection of one of the skrewts.

"This isn't that bad," said Levian to Hermione as she tightened the leash around the skrewt. "I mean, it's not even-_AAAAHHH!"_

The skrewt gave a tremendous tug and took off halfway across the lawn at top speed. Levina was dragged through twelve pairs of feet before she could tug back and wrestle the skrewt to the ground.

"That looks painful," said Hermione, examining Levina's knees, which were bleeding and green now.

"I swear, if one of your friends doesn't kill you," snarled Levina to the skrewt through gritted teeth, "_I _will."

At this, Levina was pulled once again off her feet and dragged straight into Draco, who was tying his leash around a skrewt. Their leashes tied together around and around their feet as the skrewt dashed in a circle around them, and they toppled over, Draco landing on top of Levina. The skrewt happily jumped on top of Draco's back triumphantly.

"Oh, brilliant," said Levina. "My hands are tied. Mind untangling it?"

"It was _your _bloody skrewt!" said Draco.

"Hands tied! Just do it!"

"Fine!"

"Start untangling it from that part-_no not that one!" _gasped Levina as the leash tightened around her stomach.

"Stop moving!"

After several minutes, Levina and Draco managed to unwrap the leashes around them, but red marks were left behind on both of their arms and legs.

"Thanks," said Levina, feeling her wrists.

"Well that was certainly fun," said Draco sarcastically.

...

Over the next few days, things didn't improve. Hufflepuffs and Slytherins jeered at Levina every time she walked with Harry somewhere, and one morning, a Slytherin third year girl boldly stuck gum in Levina's hair. She hexed her with a curse that left large boils on her face, but it took her forever to get the gum out of her hair, even with Hermione's assistance.

By the time the Gryffindors had Double Potions with the Slytherins, Levina entered the room to find that all the Slytherins were wearing a large badge on the front of their robes. For a moment, she thought they were SPEW badges-but when she looked closer, they read:

SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY-THE REAL HOGWARTS CHAMPION

"Like them, Potter?" said Draco loudly as Harry approached. "And this isn't all they do-look!"

He pressed his badge into his chest, and the message upon it vanished, to be replaced by a new one, which glowed green:

POTTER STINKS.

The Slytherins howled with laughter. Each of them pressed their badges too, and the message flashed everywhere.

"Oh _very _funny," said Hermione sarcastically to Pansy Parkinson and a group of girls whon were giggling loudly, "really _witty_."

"Come up with that all by yourselves, did you?" said Levina. "How many Slytherins does it take to come up with a cheesy badge slogan?" she asked Hermione.

Ron was standing with Dean and Seamus in the corner against one of the walls. He wasn't laughing, but he wasn't sticking up for Harry either.

"Want one, Granger?" said Draco, holding one out. "I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see; don't want a Mudblood sliming it up."

Before Levina even got the chance to hex him, Harry and Draco both screamed hexes at the same time. Harry's jinx hit Goyle, who began to sprout ugly boils. Draco's hit Hermione, who clutched at her mouth, whimpering in panic.

"Hermione!"

Hermione's teeth were growing at an alarming rate past her chin liike beaver teeth. Panic-stricken, she felt them and let out a small cry.

"And what is all this noise about?"

Snape had arrived. The Slytherins clammored to explain, but Snape merely pointed at Draco and said, "Explain."

"Potter attacked me, sir-"

"We attacked each other at the same time!" Harry shouted.

"-and he hit Goyle-look-"

"But he hit Hermione!" said Levina angrily as Snape examined Goyle's face.

"Hospital wing, Goyle," he said calmly.

"Malfoy got Hermione!" said Ron. "Look!"

Ron forced Hermione to show Snape her teeth, which had grown past her collar.

Snape looked coldly at Hermione. "I see no difference."

Hermione let out a whimper; her eyes filled with tears, and she turned on her heel and ran, all the way up the corridor and out of sight.

"Yes you do!" snapped Levina, standing up angrily. "You liar! Are you blind? Or are you just stupid?"

The classroom went silent for a moment.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor," said Snape coldly.

Levina glared harshly at him as she lowered herself into her seat, seething with anger.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention for each Potter and Weasley. Now get inside, or it'll be a week's worth of detentions."

They were sent to work on their Antidotes for poison, which Snape would test on someone at the end of class. Levina sank in her seat as Snape passed, and she thought she saw a smirk on his face. He was going to poison _her. _She was sure of it."

There was a sudden knock on the door; Colin Creevey entered, edging into the room, beaming.

"Yes?" said Snape.

"Please, sir, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter upstairs."

"Potter has another hour of Potions to complete. He will come upstairs when this class is finished."

Colin went pink.

"Sir-sir, Mr. Bagman wants him. All the champions have to go. I think they want to take photographs..."

"Very well, very well," Snape snapped. "Potter, leave your things here, I want you back down here later to test your antidote."

"Please, sir-he's got to bring his things with him. All the champions-"

"Very _well!" _said Snape. "Potter-take your bag and get out of my sight!"

Harry dashed out the door, leaving the class in silence.

"Well?" said Snape. "Get to work!"

Levina hastily mixed her Potion, completely lost without Hermione and Harry's help. She was certain she added too much of some things and too little of other ingredients, and by the end, her antidote looked quite odd.

"Now to test the antidotes," said Snape, sneering horribly."Miss SnowPetal, you first."

The Slytherins' faces lit up. Levina went pale.

"Er-that is-wait-" Levina spluttered as Snape picked a dangerous-looking bottle of purple liquid off his desk. It was smoking.

"Drink this," said Snape, "then your antidote, and we'll find out if it worked."

Levina took the bottle and merely stood, frozen, with it held in her hand. It was cold.

"Well?" said Snape.

"Um," said Levina. She uncorked the bottle and a swirl of smoke curled out of it. With one last deep breath, she tipped it into her mouth and swallowed fast.

For a moment, nothing happened. Relieved, Levina reached triumphantly for her antidote. Then, suddenly, something in her body gave a tremendous jerk and she toppled over, hitting her head straight on the corner of one of the desks.

There was a chorus of gasps and shouts and Levina's vision went in and out. Snape looked slightly surprised (Apparently the poison had worked too well), but he merely handed her the antidote.

"Can't-breathe-" Levina choked, holding her throat with her hands. "-I can't-breathe-"

Draco suddenly appeared at her side, Levina's antidote in his hands. He looked strangely panicked, which was odd, since it always seemed his dream was to see her die tragically.

Levina's hands fumbled to grab the potion from him, but her vision had become blurred and her head was pounding dangerously.

"Drink the antidote, stupid girl!" shouted Snape; apparently he had realized that killing one of his students _might _just get him in trouble.

"Whereisit?" said Levina, her words slurred together as she grabed blindly at the air.

She felt the bottle suddenly go in her mouth. She swallowed hastily and instantly her vision began to clear. She was surprised to see that the person holding the antidote bottle to her mouth was Draco.

Surprised, Levina shoved him away and the bottle dropped to the floor.

The Gryffindors burst into applause. Snape merely frowned.

"Points off for not taking the antidote within the time limit," said Snape.

* * *

**Finally! I thought I'd never get this chapter up...yet again, I aplogize for the delay. **

**Things to come: Dragons, Secrets, the First task, and more.**

**Thanks for all your support everyone! I promise to work hard on the next chapter!**

**Reviews are welcome! **


	6. The First Task

**My laptop's back! I'm so relieved and I just want to thank all of you for staying loyal and reviewing my story. (If you don't hate me by now)**

**xXxDragonxPhoenixXx: I know, poor Levina! Draco to the rescue, hoorah! It's very possible Levina could have lost her anger, but I think she was too out of it to hate him, haha.**

**Flyingwerecats: Snape's pure evil. And yes, I'm glad I can fit Draco moments in, but it's so hard since he hardly shows up in the fourth one. And sorry! My spell check isn't very good, I apologize for any typos. That would suck if teachers could poison their students!**

**Disclaimer: You thought I was JK Rowling? And then you figured out I wasn't, and you went and told her? And now she's suing me? Man, that really would suck. Just kidding. (:**

* * *

"This is horrible!"

Levina scanned over _The Daily Prophet _three more times angrily. "You don't cry at night, Harry!"

"I know, I know!" said Harry.

Rita Skeeter, a twisted reporter, had taken Harry's interview and completely re-worded what Harry had said.

It was the Saturday before the first task, and there was a Hogsmeade trip for all the third-year students and above.

"I'll catch you guys there later," said Levina to a disappointed Harry and Hermione. "I'm going to the library, but maybe I'll grab a Butterbeer with you in the Three Broomsticks."

Levina waved a quick goodbye, frowning as she made her way up to the library. She wanted nothing more than to buy Coconut Ice and drink a warm Butterbeer, but she had to do some research on Summoning Charms for Professor Flitwick's class.

Inside the library, Levina walked along the rows of shelves, running a hand down the spines of the books as she looked for the "S" section.

There was a sudden giggle. Levina looked up from one of the books she was holding to see a gaggle of teenage girls gathered by one of the book cases, peering through an empty space at someone.

Levina poked her head around the corner to see Viktor Krum. She rolled her eyes; for some reason, Viktor had been showing up in the library all the time, causing a commotion among the girls there. It made Hermione incredibly upset, since she couldn't think clearly with all of them giggling madly.

As Levina sharply turned a corner to avoid them, she suddenly rammed straight into someone, sending a stack of books they were carrying flying through the air.

"Sorry!" said Levina as a particularly heavy book dropped on her head. "You all right?"

The person she had run into was a girl with long black hair. When she took the book off her own head, Levina instantly recognized her as someone she'd seen before...but where?

"I'm so sorry," said the girl apologetically, scooping up her stack of books into a neat pile. She was wearing long billowy blue robes, so she must have been from Beauxbatons. Levina picked up one of the books and held it out to her.

The girl looked up.

Levina stood up so suddenly that she sent half the books flying again.

The girl also jumped in kind, startled. For a moment, neither of them said anything.

She had long black hair that reached her chest, stunning icy blue eyes, and an incredibly beautiful, pale face. But the thing that made Levina jump was that the girl's facial features were incredibly similar to her own.

"Er," said Levina.

"Um," said the girl. She hastily scooped up three books and put them back in the stack.

Levina realized where she recognized her from: The Quidditch World Cup. She had been behind the girl speaking French.

"Sorry about that," said Levina, kneeling down to grab one of the books off the ground, "I wasn't looking where I-"

"Are you..." the girl began, her icy blue eyes looking up into Levina's brown, "...Levina SnowPetal?"

Levina looked up at her, slightly surprised. "Uhh. Yeah."

The girl gave a great squeal of delight and leapt forward, taking Levina by surprise as she pulled her into a tight embrace. The two of them toppled over and the books scattered for the third time. Several people around them turned and stared.

"Hey!" said Levina, choking.

The girl released her grip on Levina and sat back, grinning. "You're Levina!"

"Yeah," said Levina akwardly, "I know." _Is she some obsessed fan of me or something?_

"Was your father Rick SnowPetal? Was your mother Nadia?"

Levina frowned. "How do you know that?"

"Because," said the girl excitedly, "I'm your cousin!"

And Levina stared at the girl for a very long time without saying a word.

"What?" she asked finally.

"Come here," said the girl, grabbing her stack of books and carrying them over to a nearby table.

Levina followed her and sat down in one of the seats, bewildered.

The girl dug around in her purse for a moment and took out a photograph. It was of two males in Gryffindor clothes, standing side-by-side and grinning.

"That's my dad!" said Levina in astonishment. Her father was a lot younger, perhaps in his late teens, but it was definitely him. The male next to him was slightly taller and had darker hair, but he shared similar facial features.

"And that's my dad," said the girl, pointing to the one on the left.

"But...I don't understand," said Levina. "I never knew my dad had a brother."

"No one ever told you?" said the girl. "Well...I suppose I'm not _entirely _surprised. I've asked my father about it before. He says they used to be really close in their earlier years at Hogwarts, but when your father started hanging out with these guys my father didn't like, they sort of grew apart. He said he was always annoyed by Uncle Rick because he wanted to be called Stripes, or something. He said his other friends gave him that nickname. They all had these odd nicknames-"

"Wait!" said Levina, leaning in closer. "So, you mean...Moody, Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail?"

"Oh, yeah. That's what their names were."

"So they weren't close _just_ because of that?" said Levina.

"Well, I think my father said they always snuck out, broke the rules, and were a bad influence on his little brother. He was rebellious, I think. So they weren't very close, and they kind of broke most of their contact with each other after graduation. I don't know about all of the details, but all I know is that my father tried to contact yours after he heard about the...the 'incident' with You-Know-Who. He couldn't reach him."

"So how do you know about me?" said Levina. "How did you even recognize me?"

"I recognized you just as you recognized me," the girl replied, grinning again. "I mean, I was a bit shocked, you look a lot like me. Our fathers didn't completely ignored each other; they talked sometimes. Your father told mine about you, and I have a feeling he would have told you about me when you were older."

"This is...mad," said Levina breathlessly. "So you're...you're my cousin?"

"Yes!"

"W...wow," said Levina, amazed. "This is so weird..."

The girl nodded in agreement. "I'm Destiny SnowPetal, by the way." She held out her hand.

"Destiny," repeated Levina as she shook her hand."Is that French?"

"Yes," said Destiny. "My mother's French."

The pair of them walked together out of the library, filled with excitement.

"So how come you went to Beauxbatons?" asked Levina as they walked along the corridor.

"Location, I guess," said Destiny with a shrug. "Uh-oh...look at the clock! I was supposed to meet my friend back at the carriage ten minutes ago!"

"And I'm supposed to be in Hogsmeade!" said Levina. "Um-I guess I'll see you around or something?"

"All right," said Destiny. She grinned back with pearly-white teeth and waved. "Bye, Levina!"

"Bye, Destiny."

...

"You have a _cousin? _At _Beauxbatons?"_

"Isn't that just so brilliant?" said Levina happily.

Harry rolled up his roll of parchment and tied it together with a string. They were sitting in the common room with Hermione.

"And you know what else?" said Levina cheerfully. "I've seen her before! Remember that mirror we saw in our first year? The Mirror of Erised or something like that? I saw my family in it, and she was there."

"Lucky," said Harry as he put away his quill and ink. "All I've got is Dudley."

Levina instantly back-tracked. "Oh, well...I mean, it's not _that _great...I mean, it is since we've never met...but, I mean-"

"It's all right," said Harry, laughing.

"But what you were saying before," said Levina, "about going to see Hagrid later?"

"You're invited," said Harry, "but you have to stay hidden under the Invisibility Cloak."

"All right," said Levina, "when?"

"Midnight," said Harry. He checked his watch. "It's half past eleven. We should get going, then."

They crept over to the portrait hole, where Hermione opened the Fat Lady's portrait and allowed them to slip past under the Cloak, as Harry had planned.

The grounds were very dark. Levina walked down the lawn toward the lights shining in Hagrid's cabin.

"You there, Harry?' Hagrid whispered a moment after they knocked. "Levina, you too?"

"Yeah," said Harry, slipping inside and pulling the Cloak off oc them. "What's up?"

"Got summat ter show yeh," said Hagrid. "Levina, I thought yeh'd find it interestin'."

Levina flinched; if it had something to do with the skrewts, she was prepared to flat-out decline and leave.

"What're you showing us?"

"Come with me, keep quiet, an' keep yourself covered with that cloak," said Hagrid. "We won' take Fang, he won' like it..."

"Listen, Hagrid, we can't stay long...I've got to be back up at the castle by one o'clock-" said Harry.

But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was strolling up to the Beauxbatons carriage.

"Hagrid, what-?"

"Shh!" said Hagrid. He knocked three times on the door.

Madame Maxime opened it. She was wearing a silk shawl wrapped around her massive shoulders. She smiled when she saw Hagrid.

"Ah, 'Agrid...it is time?"

"Bong-sewer," said Hagrid, beaming at her, holding out a hand to help her down the golden steps.

"Bong-sewer?" Levina hissed to Harry.

"Wair is it you are taking me, 'Agrid?" she asked as they walked.

"Yeh'll enjoy this," said Hagrid gruffly, "worth seein', trust me. On'y-don' go tellin' anyone I showed yeh, right? Yeh're not s'posed ter know."

"Of course not," said Madame Maxime, fluttering her long black eyelashes.

Levina rolled her eyes. She hoped they were going to arrive soon.

They walked far around the perimeter of the forest, so far that the lake and castle were out of sight-then, Levina heard something. First, it was a faint shout. Then, there was a huge, ear-splitting roar:

_"Foul creatures, let me go!" _It boomed.

Levina jumped, startled, but remained under the cloak.

They were lead through a clump of trees, where there were huge fires going up with men darting around them-and then Levina's jaw dropped.

_Dragons._

Four fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons were rearing onto their hind legs inside an enclosure fenced with thick planks of wood, roaring and snorting-torrents of fire were shooting into the dark sky from their open, fanged mouths.

"_Where am I? Unhand me this instant!"_

Levina frowned. "Who's saying that?" she whispered to Harry.

"Saying what?" whispered Harry.

"Keep back there, Hagrid!" yelled a wizard near the fence, among at least thirty wizards running around. "They can shoot at a range of twenty feet, you know! I've seen this Horntail do forty!"

"Is'n' it beautiful?" said Hagrid softly.

"It's no good!" yelled another wizard. "Stunning Spells, on the count of three-"

_"Stupefy!"_

_"Ouch!"_

Levina stopped dead in her tracks and Harry halted as well, pulling the cloak back over her.

"What?" he demanded.

"Is...is it possible for people to talk to dragons?" she asked.

Harry stared at her beneath the cloak. "I dunno. Why?"

_"What's happened to __Ilonca?" _a second deep voice snarled angrily. _"What have they done to her?"_

_"Huojin, move your tail! It's bad enough Ilonca's spikes have gotten me three times today," _a third, slightly higher voice snapped.

_"Hey, wait. Do you smell something?" _a fourth voice asked.

_"Adela, you couldn't smell something if it was right in front of your snout!"_

There was a great burst of flames and Levina leapt back with Harry.

"Watch it, Hagrid!" called one of the people managing the dragons.

_"It doesn't smell like our masters," _the fourth voice (apparently Adela) said. _"Smells...foreign."_

"I can hear them," Levina whispered in awe to Harry. "I can hear the dragons communicating."

"What? Come off it," said Harry. "You're probably just hearing the workers."

"No, really!" said Levina angrily. She paused for a moment. "You think they could hear me?"

"Levina, have you gone mad?" said Harry.

_"Can you hear me?" _said Levina. Only, what came out of her mouth wasn't english, let alone human. It was a low, odd growling sound of sorts. She jumped back, startled with herself.

_"What was that?"_ said the third voice.

_"I told you I was hearing something!" _said Adela angrily.

_"You said you were _smelling_ something!" _said Huojin.

_"Hefina, what do you think?" _said Adela.

_"Human," _said the third voice, _"Filthy, tainted human. That's what that is."_

_"Hey!" _said Levina, her voice a hiss. She ignored Harry's look he was giving her. _"What did you just call me?"_

"Ok, what are you doing?" said Harry. "What's going on?"

Levina tilted her head to one side, thinking. "Hey...remember in our first year, when Hagrid had that baby dragon? Norbert?"

"Yeah, what about him?" said Harry, confused.

"I could have sworn I heard him say, 'Mom', remember? No wonder! Now it makes sense!"

_"Didn't know humans could talk to us," _said Huojin. _"I thought they were stupid."_

_"They _are, _Huo," _growled Hefina.

_"Ok, enough bashing, please," _said Levina.

Harry looked slightly uncomfortable. "I didn't know wizards could talk to dragons. What are they saying?"

"They're calling us stupid," said Levina.

"Wan' a closer look?" Hagrid asked Madame Maxime excitedly.

Levina and Harry followed closely behind them under the cloak and inched their way nearer. The wizard who had warned Hagrid to not come closer turned. and Levina realized who it was: Charlie Weasley.

"All right, Hagrid?" he panted. "They should be okay now-we put them out with a Sleeping Draught on the way here, thought it might be better for them to wake up in the dark and all quiet-but, as you saw, they weren't happy, not at all-"

"They're not asleep!" hissed Levina to Harry.

Hefina gave a huge burst of fire that nearly reached where they were standing. Charlie whirled around and shouted, "The Welsh Green's awake!"

"Told you," Levina whispered.

_"Stupefy!" _the wizards bellowed.

_"Agghh!" _Hefina cried. There was a great crash as she fell to the ground.

_"Hefina? Are you all right?" _said Huojin.

_"Of course she's not!" _said Adela.

"Check on the other ones," said Charlie. "Make sure they're all down."

The other wizards nodded and rushed over to examine the other dragons.

"What breeds you got here, Charlie?" said Hagrid, gazing at the closet dragon, a black one, with something close to reverence.

"This is a Hungarian Horntail," said Charlie.

"That's Ilonca," whispered Levina.

"There's a common Welsh Green over there, the smaller one-"

"-Hefina-" said Levina

"-A Swedish Shortsnout, that blue-gray-"

"-Adela-" said Levina.

"-and a Chinese Fireball, that's the red."

"Huojin," finished Levina.

_"Yes?" _said Huojin.

_"Don't talk to it!" _hissed Adela.

"This one's awake too!" called one of the wizards.

There was a loud roar and a tremendous thud; Adela hit the ground.

"Did those Sleeping Draughts even work?" shouted another wizard. "The Chinese Fireball's up, too!"

_"Uh-oh," _said Huojin.

_"Stupefy!"_

Madame Maxime strolled around the edge of the cages, gazing at the stunned dragons.

"I didn't know you were bringing her, Hagrid," said Charlie, frowning. "The champions aren't supposed to know what's coming-she's bound to tell her student, isn't she?"

"Jus' thought she'd like ter see 'em," Hagrid shrugged, still gazing, enraptured, at the dragons.

"Really romantic date, Hagrid," said Charlie, shaking his head.

"Four..." said Hagrid, "so it's one fer each o' the champions, is it? What've they gotta do-fight 'em?"

"Just get past them, I think," said Charlie. "We'll be on hand if it gets nasty, Extinguishing Spells at the ready. They wanted nesting mothers, I don't know why...but I tell you this, I don't envy the one who gets the Horntail. Vicious thing. It's back end's as dangerous as its front, look."

Charlie pointed to Ilonca's tail, where bronze-colored spikes protruding every few inches.

Five of Charlie's fellow keepers staggered up to the Horntail at that moment, carrying a clutch of granite-grey eggs between them in a blanket. They placed them carefully at the Horntail's side. Hagrid let out a moan of longing.

"I've got them counted, Hagrid," said Charlie sternly. "How's Harry?"

"Fine," said Hagrid, still staring at the eggs.

"Just hope he's fine after he's faced this lot," said Charlie grimly. "I didn't dare tell Mum what he's got to do for the first task; she's already having kittens about him..." Charlie imitated his mother's anxious voice. _"How could they let him enter that tournament, he's much too young! I thought they were all safe, I thought there was going to be an age limit! _She was in floods after that _Daily Prophet _article about him. '_He still cries about his parents! Oh bless him, I never knew!"_

Apparently Harry had enough; Levina felt him pull on the cloak and she followed without a word.

So, she could talk to dragons. Was it something that ran in the family? Or, was it just something she had? Was it common?

Levina suddenly rammed into a halted Harry, who fell back on top of her.

"Ouch! Who's there?"

Harry hastily checked to make sure the cloak was still over them. The person he'd run into was Karakoff.

"Who's there?" said Karakoff again, very suspiciously. Levina and Harry remained silent, petrified. Karakoff decided that he had hit some sort of animal; he was looking around at waist height, as though expecting to see a dog. Then he crept back under the cover of the trees and started to edge over to where the dragons were.

"Everyone's cheating!" whispered Levina when he was out of sight. They headed back to the castle and into the common room sleepily, where Harry sat down in the armchair in front of the fire and yawned.

"Going to bed?" he asked her as she climbed the girl's dormitory steps.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," said Levina lazily. "Goodnight."

* * *

It wasn't until Monday morning that Levina finally spilled everything to Hermione.

"Wait, slow down," said Hermione. "One thing at a time. You have a _cousin? _From _Beauxbatons?"_

"Yeah," said Levina, "isn't it brilliant? She's really nice, too."

"And you said...you can actually _talk _to dragons?"

"Cool, huh?" said Levina.

"No, not cool," said Hermione. "Not cool _at all. _That ability is incredibly rare, it usually takes years to learn! Even the most skilled wizards study it for years and don't learn it. Yet, you're fluent in it?"

"I still think it's cool," said Levina grumpily. She stabbed her bacon and chewed it. "All I can say is, if I were Harry, I'd want Huojin, the Chinese Fireball. She seemed the calmest...or, at least as calm as a dragon could be."

"Come on, let's get to class," said Hermione, closing up her book.

Later that day, Levina, Harry, and Hermione found seats in the common room. Levina watched Hermione as she tried to teach Harry a Summoning charm, which he apparently had to use for the first task.

"Concentrate, Harry, _concentrate," _said Hermione.

"What d'you think I'm trying to do?" said Harry angrily. "A big dragon keeps popping up in my head for some reason...Okay, try again..."

Levina watched, torn between amusement and being a good friend. She instead merely sat in the corner, petting Lilypad's fur while reading a book on color-changing spells.

"Hey, watch this," said Levina as Harry sat down, taking a break. She stared hard at the red book in her hand and concentrated immensely hard. It went purple.

"Stop it!" said Hermione sternly. "I'm really becoming concerned with all these 'new-found powers', Levina."

"Yes, because making my book purple will get me killed," said Levina.

"Can you make Snape's hair pink?" said Harry. "He'll never know who did it."

"I think the effects wear off anyway, depending on how powerful the spell used on it was," said Levina, flipping through the pages of the book.

They had to go to Divination and dinner, but afterwards Harry and Hermione continued practice past Midnight. Levina crashed, watching them from an armchair, around eleven thirty.

The following day sped by at a rapid pace, which made Harry incredibly uneasy. Levina gave him words of encouragement, but his smile never reached his eyes,

When the first task arrived, Levina wished Harry good luck and she and Hermione headed down to the enclosure in the woods. It was in the same spot, but a tent had been magicked next to it, for the champions. A huge area of stands had also appeared, circling the enclosure fence.

"Oooh, I'm so nervous!" said Hermione, terror written all over her face.

"I'm sure he'll do fine," said Levina.

"Levina! Hey, Levina! Over here!"

Levina looked over her shoulder to see Destiny Snowpetal waving at her from a spot in the stands, looking delighted.

"That's my cousin," said Levina, beaming. "Come on, want to meet her?"

Hermione peered through the sunlight up at where Levina was pointing. "Wow, she's beautiful!"

"Thanks, it runs in the family," Levina joked.

They made their way up the stands and Levina sat down next to Destiny, who had her pretty, long black hair in a ponytail.

"Hello," said Hermione. "I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger."

"Hi! I'm Destiny Snowpetal, Levina's cousin."

They shook hands and Levina quickly engaged Destiny into conversation, telling her of the events of last night. Hermione shot her an incredibly serious look at this, since it was supposed to be a secret that Levina saw the dragons early, but she didn't mention Harry.

"You can talk to dragons?" she whispered in awe. "That's amazing!"

"Oh, they're starting!" said Hermione.

The Swedish Short-snout, Adela, stirred on her nest over the cluster of grey eggs she'd been given. There was one golden one, however.

"Cedric Diggory!" called Bagman, who was apparently doing the commentary. "The Swedish Short-snout! The task is to collect the golden egg from the dragon!"

_"Huh?" _Adela lifted her head and glanced around, her blue-grey scales shimmering in the sun. _"What's-? Are these mine?" _she looked down at the eggs. _"When did this happen?"_

Cedric stepped out from the tent, looking terrified as he walked. He clenched his wand in his hand and boldy ran at the dragon head-on.

"He's taking risks, this one!" boomed Bagman.

_"Get back, savage!" _roared Adela. She let out a burst of flames and Cedric leapt back, dodging the fire.

"Oooh, narrow miss there, very narrow!" said Bagman.

"That was close!" said Destiny, sitting on the edge of her seat.

Cedric ducked out of the way as Adela swung at him with her claws angrily.

_"Leave me alone! What are you trying to do?"_

Cedric dropped onto his hands and knees as a burst of fire went over his head. The crowd gasped and screamed (especially the girls) as Cedric narrowly dashed out of the way.

Then, for some reason, Cedric held up his wand and pointed it at one of the rocks in the enclosure. It Transfigured into a labrador, which started running around in front of Adela.

"Aww, poor puppy!" said Destiny.

"It isn't a real dog, though, is it?" said Hermione skeptically.

_"What the...?" _said Adela, confused. _"What is _that?"

Adela's eyes followed the dog around the enclosure and she trailed it as it ran round.

_"Don't come near me," _she warned. _"If you're trying to steal my eggs, I'll-"_

The crowd roared in excitement; Cedric had run up behind Adela and grabbed the golden egg.

_"Hey!" _snarled Adela. She sent a large burst of flames at Cedric, who yelled in pain as they struck him. He dropped the egg.

_"Clever _move-pity it didn't work," said Bagman.

"Actually, it did!" said Hermione.

Cedric re-grabbed the egg, although he kept tossing it up in the air since it was burning hot now from the fire, but he had retrieved it.

The Labrador ran off and the crowd cheered heavily, screaming with excitement.

"Very good indeed!" Bagman shouted. "And now the marks from the judges!"

But Levina wasn't paying attention to the scores. She was watching Adela, who was being hit with various spells by the wizards below.

_"Unhand me!" _she roared. _"My egg! He's stolen my egg, you monsters!"_

_"Chill out, it's not even yours," _said Levina in a low tone.

Adela's head jerked in Levina's direction and her eyes narrowed.

_"You again? Didn't I smell you before?"_

_"Yeah, I-"_

_"Stupefy!"_

Adela fell heavily to the ground and the wizards quickly moved her away for the next dragon, which was a

"One down, three to go!" said Bagman loudly. "Miss Delacour, if you please."

Hefina, the common Welsh Green, replaced Adela with her eggs and a golden one. Levina remembered her as the one who'd called humans 'taint'.

_"Where am I?" _said Hefina with a vague look around the area.

Fleur Delacour stepped out at the sound of the whistle. She looked determined, but frightened.

"Fleur Delacour!" shouted Bagman. "And...the Welsh Green!"

"I know her," said Destiny as Fleur very carefully began to descend towards Hefina. "She's in some of my classes, and I've seen her during dance."

"You have a dance class at your school?" said Levina.

"Yeah, I'm in it-oh my gosh! Look!"

Fleur had just barely escaped Hefina's flames; she had tried to flat out grab the egg from behind Hefina, but she'd seen Fleur coming.

"Oh I'm not sure that was wise!" Bagman shouted gleefully.

_"Don't come near my nest," _Hefina snarled. _"If you dare to lay a disgusting hand on my eggs-"_

Fleur dove behind one of the boulders as Hefina got up from her nest and ran at her, raging mad. Fleur snuck around the other side of the boulder and made a run for it, about to grab one of the eggs, but Hefina whirled around and blasted fire at her.

"Oh...nearly! Careful now...good lord, I thought she'd had it then!" Bagman shouted.

_"Stop moving!" _Hefina snapped. _"The last thing I need is a moving target."_

Fleur suddenly seemed to have an idea; she took out her wand, pointed it at Hefina, and said something inaudible. Almost straight away, Hefina looked slightly dazed, tipped to one side, and fell over, her eyes closing.

_"Huh...what's going on? Why am I so...tired?"_

Fleur triumphantly ran to grab the egg, but just as she did, Hefina let out a loud snore and a shot of flames hit Fleur, catching her skirt on fire. She hastily put it out with a water spell and grabbed up the golden egg.

"She's gotten it!" boomed Bagman to the cheering crowd. "And what a close shave, too!"

"Yes!" said Destiny happily. "I mean...I have to support my school, don't I?" she added to Levina.

The scores for Fleur were put up on the board and the crowd from Beauxbatons cheered heavily. After the clapping died down, Hefina was taken out and replaced by Huojin.

_"Mm?" _said Huojin sleepily. _"Who turned the lights on?"_

"And here comes Mr. Krum!" cried Bagman, and Krum slouched out of the tent. "Against the Chinese Fireball!"

Krum seemed to have more of a strategy and very carefully slunk behind one of the rocks, hidden out of sight, and began to creep around the corner, watching Huojin cautiously.

_"Odd place to nest my eggs," _said Huojin, looking down at her eggs without noticing Krum slinking around behind her. _"Is...is that one golden?"_

Like a bullet, Krum shot out at Huojin at top speed, reaching out a hand for the egg.

"How bold!" Bagman yelled.

_"What on earth!" _Huojin gasped, and a huge blast of fire emitted from her mouth.

Krum dashed out of the way and backed up several paces.

_"Whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy, you're getting a little too close for comfort," _said Huojin as she lowered herself over her eggs. _"What're you trying to do, steal one?"_

_"Yup," _thought Levina. Huojin turned on her, red head lifted up.

_Wait...can I communicate to them through my thoughts, too? _Thought Levina. She tried it again. _"Hey."_

Huojin frowned and cocked her head to one side. _"You sound familiar. Do I-HEY!"_

Krum had been sneaking around her again. She turned around and readied herself to engourge him in more flames, but Krum held out his wand at her and shouted something. The spell hit her directly in the eye and she roared in pain.

_"MY EYE! MY EYE! OW! WAS THAT REALLY NECESSARY? OW!"_

And she trampled straight over her own eggs, splattering them everywhere. Levina had a feeling if Hagrid was watching, he'd be horrified.

"Very daring! That's some nerve he's showing-and-yes, he's got the egg!" shouted Bagman as Krum grabbed the golden one, avoiding Huojin's stamping feet.

"Poor little dragons," said Destiny sadly, looking at the squashed eggs.

"He gave Krum a ten!" said Hermione at Karakoff. "He's being biased, I just know it!"

Huojin was quickly stunned so she'd stop smashing everything and in her place was Ilona, the Hungarian Horntail. Levina didn't know much about this one since she'd been stunned so quickly when she saw her before, but she looked pretty vicious.

_"You filthy creatures," _Ilona hissed, _"Try to take my eggs, will you? Let's see you try..."_

Levina held her breath, suddenly remembering who was next. Harry emerged from the tent and the crowd went wild, but Levina's stomach was churning painfully.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no," Hermione said, sitting on the edge of her seat. "Oh no, oh no..."

Harry raised his wand.

_"Accio Firebolt!" _he shouted.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the Firebolt came hurtling out of the sky towards him, stopping dead beside him, waiting for him to mount. Bagman was shouting something, but Levina had her eyes locked on Harry. He swung his leg over the broom and soared upward into the air. After a moment of hovering many feet above them, he dived.

Ilona's head tracked Harry's movements and sent a jet of fire at him, but Harry flew out of the way.

_"Stay away from my eggs!" _Ilona snarled. _"I'll whack you straight out of the sky with my tail!"_

"Great Scott, he can fly!" yelled Bagman as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"

Harry plummetted again just as Ilona opened her mouth, and although he missed the flames and swerved to the left, Ilona struck out at him with her spiked tail and grazed his shoulder, ripping his robes.

The crowd screamed and Hermione and Destiny both gasped.

_"No, don't hurt him!" _Levina shouted. Ilona turned her head and looked up to the stands unmistakably at Levina. Unfortunately, Hermione noticed.

"Are you talking to it?" she demanded. "You're not telling it off, are you?"

"Uh, sort of-"

"Levina, that would be considered cheating!" said Hermione.

"Do you _want _him killed?"

"O-of course not, but-I mean-"

"Potter sure is having fun, eh, SnowPetal?"

Levina whirled around to face Draco Malfoy, who was sneering more than usual.

"How long before the Hungarian gets him?" said Draco. "I highly doubt he'll last much longer. Personally, I'm hoping he'll be knocked off within the next few seconds-"

"Well, that's rude!" said Destiny, turning around to look at him. "Isn't he one of your school champions?"

Draco paused for a moment. "Who're you?"

"Levina's cousin, Destiny Snowpetal," said Destiny proudly.

"Cousin?" A grin spread across Draco's pale face. "So you're related, then?"

"Good job, Sherlock," said Levina.

"Sherlock?" he looked confused.

"Muggle thing," said Levina.

"But seriously...how is someone pretty like _you_," said Draco, gesturing to Destiny's face, "related to _that?" _

"Excuse me?" said Levina angrily.

"She's just as good-looking as I am," said Destiny defiantly, and Levina felt a rush of affection for her, "if not prettier. Obviously you're just upset that you didn't recieve any good-looking genes from _your _family."

And she turned back around.

Smirking at the look on Draco's face, Levina also turned back to the tournament.

_"Stay back!" _Ilona was now away from her nest and blasting fire at Harry. _"Don't come any closer!"_

But Harry had put on a burst of speed, soaring past Ilona, and he grabbed up the golden egg. He sped up quicker, the crowd cheering, and went over the stands, the egg safely under his arm.

_"No! No!" _Ilona looked incredibly upset by this, still shooting fire everywhere. _"You horrible-"_

But the dragon keepers quickly subdued her and Levina, Hermione, and Destiny rushed out of the stands to find Harry.

They made their way to the tent and pulled back the curtain, rushing in to see Harry, who was standing up. Surprisingly, Ron had followed in behind them, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Harry, you were brilliant!" said Hermione. "You were amazing! You really were!"

"Beyond brilliant!" said Levina. "That was so amazing, Harry!"

"You did the best, in my oppinion," said Destiny cheerfully. "But don't tell Fleur, she'll be upset with me..."

"Are you Destiny?" said Harry.

"Yeah," Destiny replied. "And you're Harry Potter?"

Harry nodded. "Nice to meet you."

Ron had come up behind them, looking pale and white like a ghost.

"Harry," he said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in that goblet-I-I reckon they're trying to do you in!"

Levina rolled her eyes, but she felt a smile creeping across her face.

"Caught on, have you?" said Harry coldly. "Took you long enough."

Ron frowned, looking upset. He was about to answer, but Harry said, "It's okay. Forget it."

"No," said Ron. "I should've-"

"_Forget it," _said Harry.

Ron grinned nervously at him. Harry grinned back.

Hermione burst into tears.

"Hermione!" said Levina

"There's nothing to cry about!" said Harry, bewildered.

"You two are so _stupid!" _she shouted, stamping her foot on the ground, tears splashing down her front. And she hugged Harry, Ron, and even Levina.

Then, before they could say anything, she dashed away, now positively howling.

"Barking mad," said Ron, shaking his head.

"Well, I should go check on Fleur," said Destiny, and Ron seemed to notice her for the first time. His jaw dropped down and he stared, gaping at her in astonishment.

The moment Destiny vanished behind Fleur's curtain, Ron turned to Harry and Levina and said, "How many Veela _are _there at Beauxbatons?"

Levina laughed. "She's not a Veela, Ron!"

"Did you not see her?" Ron demanded. "Her-her eyes! They were like-like-"

"Blue?" said Levina.

"Yeah," said Ron breathlessly. "Who is she?"

"My cousin," said Levina. If possible, Ron looked even more bewildered.

"Wait-seriously?" said Ron.

Levina glared. "Yeah, seriously. I don't have to be gorgeous to be related to her, Ron!"

Ron quickly backtracked. "I-I didn't mean it that way! I mean-you're pretty too, but-I just-"

"Oh, just shut up," said Levina jokingly. "Let's go see Harry's scores."

They looked to the judges table and watched as Madame Maxime raised her wand and send up a long silver ribbon in the shape of an eight.

"Not bad!" said Ron. "I suppose she took marks off for your shoulder..."

Mr. Crouch came next. He shot a number nine into the air.

"Looking good!" said Ron.

"Brilliant!" said Levina.

Next Dumbledore put up a nine. The crowd was roaring.

Ludo Bagman-_ten._

"Ten?" said Harry in disbelief. "But...I got hurt...what's he playing at?"

"Harry, don't complain!" said Ron excitedly.

And Karakoff, the last one, gave him a-four.

"_What?" _bellowed Ron furiously. "_Four? _You gave Krum a ten, you lousy, biased scum!"

"He's horrible!" said Levina angrily in agreement. "He should have _at least _gotten an eight!"

But Harry didn't seem to care; apparently he was just happy to have Ron back.

* * *

**Ha! I bet all of you thought I'd put off this chapter for another month, did you? Well, now that my laptop's back, I figured I may as well give you guys another chapter to keep you busy for a while.**

**Anyways, review, tell me what you think, and be free to give me ideas! **

**Things to come: House-elves, the golden egg, and the YULE BALL! **


	7. The Yule Ball

**Sorry this took a bit of time to post. I was watching the Deathly Hallows- I got in on Blue Ray! Yay!**

**Savvygurl101LunaRachel: I literally laughed out loud when I read your review! :) I always wondered what was happening with everyone else while Harry was in the tournament. Yes, it his Hannah Hindi! (Not to say she's prettier than Hilly, but the character is considered to be in my story) And you'll just have to wait and see what happens! :)**

**Disclaimer: Yes, I'm JK Rowling, all right? You've finally figured me out! ...Just kidding. **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Harry, Ron, Levina, and Hermione went up to the Owlery that evening to find Pigwidgeon, so that Harry could send Sirius a letter telling him that he had managed to get past the dragon unscathed. On the way, Harry filled Ron in on everything Sirius had told him about Karakoff, and Levina told him about her ability to talk to dragons. Though shocked at first to hear that Karakoff had been a Death Eater, by the time they reached the Owlery, Ron was saying they ought have suspected it all along.

"Fits, doesn't it?" he said. "Remember what Malfoy said on the train, about his dad being friends with Karakoff? Now we know where they knew each other. They were probably running around in masks together at the World Cup...I'll tell you one thing, though, Harry, if it _was _Karakoff who put your name in the goblet, he's going to be feeling really stupid now, isn't he? Didn't work, did it? You only got a scratch! Come here-I'll do it-"

Ron snatched Pigwidgeon out of the air and held him still while Harry attatched his letter to his leg.

"It definetly makes sense," said Levina. "And he gave Harry a _four..._he must have been pretty upset."

"There's no way any of the other tasks are going to be that dangerous, how could they?"

"You never know," said Levina, "they might just get even more difficult."

"You know what?" said Ron, ignoring Levina, "I reckon you could win this tournament, Harry, I'm serious."

"I agree with Levina; Harry's got a long way to go before he finishes this tournament," said Hermione seriously. "If that was the first task, I hate to think what's coming next."

"Right little ray of sunshine, aren't you?" said Ron. "You and Professor Trelwaney should get together sometime."

Athena fluttered down and landed on Levina's arm, hooting excitedly.

"Sorry, girl, I don't have a letter to send today," said Levina; Athena moodily nipped her finger and flew off again, offended.

"Well, we'd better get downstairs for your surprise party, Harry-Fred and George should have nicked enough food from the kitchens by now."

Sure enough, when they entered the Gryffindor common room it exploded with cheers and yells again. There were mountains of cakes and flagons of pumpkin juice and butterbeer on every surface; Lee Jordan had let off some Filibuster's Fireworks, so that the air was thick with stars and sparks; and Dean Thomas, who was very good at drawing, had put up some impressive new banners, most of which depicted Harry zooming around the Horntail's head on his Firebolt, though a couple showed Cedric with his head on fire.

"Nice," said Levina in approval. She helped herself to a stack of cakes and a butterbeer, sitting with Ginny at a table in the back.

"Blimey, this is heavy," said Lee Jordan, picking up the golden egg. "Open it, Harry, go on! Let's just see what's inside it!"

"He's supposed to work out the clues on his own," Hermione said swiftly. "It's in the tournament rules..."

"I was supposed to work out how to get past the dragon my own too," Harry muttered so only Hermione and Levina could hear him. Levina grinned.

"Yeah, go on, Harry, open it!"

Harry dug his fingernails into the groove of it and prised it open.

Levina didn't see anything inside of it, but at that moment, a loud and screechy wailing filled the room. Levina's sensitive canine ears felt as though they were about to explode; Fred noticed her cupping her ears with her hands in pain.

"Shut it!" Fred bellowed.

Levina gave Fred a grateful look as Harry closed it shut.

"What was that?" said Seamus Finnigan. "Sounded like a banshee...Maybe you've got to get past one of those next, Harry!"

"It was someone being tortured!" said Neville, who had gone very white and spilled sausage rolls all over the floor. "You're going to have to fight the Cruciatus Curse!"

"Don't be a prat, Neville, that's illegal," said George. "They wouldn't use the Cruciatus Curse on the champions. I thought it sounded a bit like Percy singing...maybe you've got to attack him while he's in the shower, Harry."

Levina laughed. "Yeah, but what could it be, then?"

"Want a jam tart, Hermione?" said Fred.

Hermione looked doubtfully at the plate he was offering her. Fred grinned.

"It's all right," he said. "I haven't done anything to them It's the custard creams you've got to watch-"

Neville, who'd bitten into one, choked and spat it out. Fred laughed.

"Just my little joke, Neville...Want one, Levina?"

"Nahh, I've known you long enough to know not to trust you," said Levina, grinning.

"Did you get all this from the kitchens, Fred?" said Hermione, taking the tart from the plate.

"Yep," said Fred. He put on a high-pitched squeak and immitated a house-elf. "'Anything we can get you, sir, anything at all!' They're dead helpful...get me a roast ox if I said I was peckish."

"How do you get in there?' said Hermione innocently.

Levina turned and rolled her eyes at Hermione. _If this is something about elf rights again, _Levina thought.

"Easy," said Fred, "concealed door behind a painting of a bowl of fruit. Just tickle the pair, and it giggles and-" He stopped and looked suspiciously at her. "Why?"

"Nothing," said Hermione quickly.

"Going to try and lead the house-elves on strike now, are you?" said George. "Going to give up all the leaflet stuff and try to sit them up into rebellion?"

Several people chortled. Hermione didn't answer.

"Don't go upsetting them and telling them they've got to take clothes and salaries!" said Fred warningly. "You'll put them off their cooking."

"Fred," said Levina seriously, "maybe you should just leave her alone..."

Fred stared at her. Levina never stood up for Hermione much when it came to their teasing, but she kind of felt bad for them.

"Sorry, Levina," said Fred sincerely. "I didn't mean it in a bad way or anything-"

"It's all right," said Levina, laughing at his reaction.

Just then, Neville turned into a large canary.

"Oh-sorry, Neville!" Fred shouted over the laughter. "I forgot-it _was _the custard creams we hexed-"

Within a minute, however, Neville molted, and once his fethers had fallen off, he reappeared looking quite normal. He even joined in the laughing.

"Canary creams!" Fred shouted to the excitable crowd. "George and I invented them-seven Sickles each, a bargain!"

Levina grinned and finished off her butterbeer, placing the bottle back on the table. Yawning, she waved a quick goodbye to everyone and went up to the girl's dormitory.

Hermione and Ginny came up soon after; they were both also worn-out. Without really saying much, Levina pulled on her pajamas and drew the curtain around her bed except for a section looking out at the window. She sat up and opened the window to let fresh air in and curled up under her covers. Checking, as usual, to make sure her necklace was still on, she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

The start of December brought wind and sleet to Hogwarts. Drafty though the castle always was in winter, Levina was thankful for the fires and thick walls.

Hagrid had suggested that the skrewts might hibernate and had informed the class they would be putting the skrewts in boxes with pillows, but the result was disasterous. The skrewts apparently didn't need to hibernate, and therefore didn't want to be shoved into tight boxes. They escaped across the pumpkin patch and most of the class fled to Hagrid's cabin except for Harry, Levina, Hermione, and Ron.

Levina had just managed to tackle one of the skrewts when a voice said, "Well, well, well...this _does _look like fun."

Rita Skeeter was leaning on Hagrid's garden fence. Levina sighed in exasperation; the timing on her part was terrible.

"Who're you?" Hagrid asked.

"Rita Skeeter, _Daily Prophet _reporter," Rita replied, beaming golden teeth.

"Thought Dumbledore said you weren' allowed inside the school anymore," said Hagrid, frowning slightly.

Rita acted as though she hadn't heard him.

"Whhat are these fascinating creatures called?" she asked.

"Blast-Ended Skrewts."

"Really? I've never heard of them before...where do they come from?"

"They're very interesting, aren't they? Aren't they, Harry, Levina?" said Hermione quickly.

"What? Oh yeah...ouch...interesting..." said Harry as she stepped on his foot.

"They're incredibly interesting," said Levina helpfully.

"Ah, _you're _here, Harry! So you like Care of Magical Creatures, do you? One of your favorite lessons?"

"Yes," said Harry. Hagrid beamed at him.

"Lovely," said Rita. "Really lovely. Wait...is this? No, it can't be," she said dramatically, "the famous Levina Snowpetal?"

"That's me," said Levina as she wrestled with one of the skrewts.

"Mind a quick interview?"

Levina glared at her. "I'm a bit busy right now."

"Lovely," said Rita again. "Been teaching how long?" she asked Hagrid.

"This is o'ny me second year," said Hagrid.

"Lovely...I don't suppose you'd like me to give you an interview, would you? Share some of your experience of magical creatures?"

"Er-yeah, why not?"

Levina tried to mouth "NO!" to Hagrid, but he didn't seem to notice her frantic arm movements in his direction.

At the end of the lesson, Levina left in an irritable mood, knowing that Rita would twist every word Hagrid said. By the time she got to Divination, she was rather snappy with everyone.

When dinnertime arrived, Hermione wasn't there, and she wasn't in the library. Levina didn't think much of it and went up to the common room, but Harry and Ron had appeared to have vanished as well.

Fred and George were playing exploding Snap in the corner, but Harry, Hermione, and Ron didn't appear to be anywhere. She sat down next to them, bewildered.

"Where d'you think they went?" she asked, doodling a sketch on a sheet of paper.

"I dunno," said Fred. "Maybe they're in the library? Hey, that's really good," he added.

Levina flushed slightly at the compliment; she'd been sketching a picture of Lilypad, who was curled up by the fire.

"Thanks," she beamed. "How's the whole 'blackmail' thing going, by the way?"

"Terrible," said George sadly. "We're just going to have to work harder-interrogate him every chance we get."

Hermione, Ron, and Harry entered the common room just at that moment, holding several sweets in their hands.

"Where've you been?" she demanded.

Hermione glanced at Fred and George and whispered hastily in her ear, "The kitchens. Dobby's working down there, and so is Winky."

"Dobby?" said Levina. "The little house-elf? Aww, i wish I could have see him! Did you bring me anything?"

Ron held up a chocolate eclair and Levina took it greatfully. "Thanks."

They waved goodnight to the guys and headed up to their dorm, where Levina sat next to the window, yawning. Lilypad leapt onto her bed and curled up in a ball at her feet.

Levina glanced out the window. What happened to the dragons after the tournament? Where did they go? She had an urge to go look for them, but, deciding against it, she laid back down and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Potter! Weasley! _Will you pay attention?"_

Levina grinned at Harry and Ron, who were fighting with fake wands at their table. They were in Transfiguration, but it had been a rather boring lesson. and if Professor McGonagall hadn't noticed them, Levina would have joined in.

"Now that Potter and Weasley gave been kind enough to act their age," said Professor McGonagall with an angry look at them, "I have something to say to you all.

"The Yule Ball is approaching-a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests. Now, the Yule Ball will be open only to fourth years and above-although you may invite a younger student if you wish-"

Lavender Brown let out a shrill giggled and Parvati nudged her in the ribs.

Levina frowned and made a face. A ball?

"Dress robes will be worn and the ball will start at eight o' clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall. Now then-"

Professor McGonagall began to pace around the class. "The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to-er-let our hair down."

Even Levina giggled along with the other girls at this; Professor McGonagall's hair appeared to have never been worn out of her tight bun.

"But that does NOT mean that we will be relazing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."

The bell rang and Levina got to her feet, feeling slightly queasy. Where there were balls, there were dates, and where there were dates, there was dancing-and Levina couldn't dance to save her life.

...

Harry and Ron were having a terrible time finding dates; Harry got asked out several times, but he declined to each of them. Levina had a feeling she knew who he was wanting to go with, however.

Levina spent a great deal of time hanging out with Destiny out in the courtyard. Destiny had been trying to force Levina to take dance lessons from her every chance she got, and eventually, Levina gave in and had her show her some of the dance steps, but they didn't go over well. She stepped on Destiny's foot six times and even fell in the lake when they practiced near it.

"I'm so sorry," said Levina as she accidently kicked Destiny in the shins.

"No, no, you're just a beginner!" said Destiny, although her eyes were watering with pain. "Practice makes perfect."

Although having Destiny for a cousin and friend was brilliant, it also had its downsides. Almost every five seconds a guy from Durmstrang, Hogwarts, or Beaxubatons would ask her out. She would kindly decline to all of them, but she refused to tell Levina who she was holding out for.

"Just tell me!" said Levina in frustration.

"No! It's too embarrassing!" was Destiny's only answer to Levina's pleas.

Even Levina began to start having guys come up to her and ask her to the ball. It was very flattering at first, but after a while, Levina found it very aggravating and understood why Destiny was always trying to take detours away from everyone. Guys from Durmstrang she'd never even met would bow to her and take her hand dramatically, and guys that Destiny knew from Beauxbatons appeared around every corner. She wasn't sure why she continually said no to them, since she honestly didn't have any idea who she wanted to go with.

To make matters worse, the teachers were forcing double the homework on them and Levina had hardly any time to herself.

On one occasion, however, she found herself walking past the forest with Destiny, reading _The Werewolf Within _(She had told Destiny about her incident last year, but Destiny didn't seem to mind in the least). They were trying to avoid being ambushed by guys asking them to the ball, but as Levina began talking about her color-changing ability, there was a sudden roar.

"That's a dragon!" said Levina. "Have they not removed them from the grounds yet?"

"Nope," said Destiny casually. "My cousin on my mom's side, Eric, works with them. He said they're not ready to be moved yet. Oh! And I've been meaning to tell you something."

"Yeah?" said Levina.

Destiny lowered her voice to a whisper, looking back and forth to make sure no one was watching. "I have a secret," she said happily.

"What?" Levina demanded. "What is it?"

"I have a pet dragon."

Levina stared at her. "Aren't they illegal?"

"Shh!" Destiny seemed quite pleased with herself. "His name's Ryuu, and he's really sweet. I live on a manor, so there's a lot of space and no one ever really sees him."

"That's amazing," said Levina. "Wish I had a dragon. What are they going to do with the others?"

Destiny frowned. "Well...it all depends. Sometimes they let them go, but if they're deemed too violent, they're...put down."

"No way!" said Levina.

"I know! Eric says he's going to try and convince them to let him keep them. He's really good with them, you see, and he can speak a little bit of their language since he studied it for years. He's really responsible, so they might let him keep them."

"What kind of dragon is Ryuu?"

"He's a Chinese Fireball, like that one at the match, only a little bit bigger."

"So, you said your mother's French, right? Then how come you don't speak-?"

"Was," said Destiny quietly.

Levina looked up at her. "Was?"

Destiny nodded sadly. "A witch named Bellatrix Lestrange tortured her to death."

Levina frowned. Where had she heard that name before? "I'm so sorry."

"No, no, don't be," said Destiny with a fake-smile. "It was such a long time ago-I hardly knew her."

Levina checked her watch. "Anyways," she said awkwardly, "let's get back up to the castle, I've got loads of homework to do."

"All right."

Levina was returning up the stairs to the common room when someone suddenly grabbed her arm and stopped her. She turned around to find Fred standing behind her.

"Hi!" she greeted. "Does Charlie know anyone named Eric? Destiny was telling me just a second ago how-"

"Want to come to the ball with me?"

Levina was so taken aback by the sudden question that she said promptly, "No!"

Fred looked slightly hurt, but he nodded in understanding. "All right then, I'll just-"

"I-I mean-" Levina stammered. "That came out wrong, sorry. What I meant to say was-yes. Yes, I want to go to the ball with you."

Fred went slightly red in the face, but he looked pleased. He grinned. "Brilliant."

"Yeah," said Levina.

The corridor was filled with awkward silence, and Levina found herself glued by her feet to the stairs.

"So...I guess I should be-" Levina began.

"-common room?" Fred finnished. "Yeah. Me too, why don't we go up?"

Levina lead the way back to the common room, her heart thudding rapidly in her chest. When they reached it, she went straight up to the girls' dorm without another word.

The moment she sat on her bed, she put her head into her hands, feeling her cheeks burn. Why was she so embarrassed? She'd been asked out a million times that week, so what made him any different?

Levina punched her pillow into a more comfortable position and put her head on it, burying her face under the covers.

"Levina?"

Hermione had entered the girl's dormitory.

"Oh, hi," said Levina, hoping that she sounded normal. "All right?"

"For the most part," said Hermione. "Ron's being a complete prat, saying he doesn't want to end up with a troll. He's such an idiot!"

Levina pulled the covers off her face. "Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you," said Levina in complete sincerity, "like Ron?"

Hermione went red. "O-of course I do! We all do, don't we? You, me, and Harry? We're all friends-"

"As more than a friend, I mean."

"Wh-what are you getting at?" said Hermione furiously. "Me? Of course not!" and she dropped onto her bed still in her clothes and pulled up the sheets.

Levina grinned; Hermione _definetly _liked Ron.

...

"And she turned you down?" said Levina.

Harry nodded sadly. "She's going with Cedric."

"I'm sorry," said Levina. "I never took Cho for the type to go for someone like Cedric-you should have asked me to ask her sooner!"

"I didn't think to!" said Harry.

Both Harry and Ron had been turned down, Ron by Fleur Delacour and Harry by Cho Chang. They were sitting together in the common room with Ginny.

"This is mad," said Ron. "We're the only ones left who haven't got anyone-well, except Neville. Hey-guess who he asked? _Hermione!"_

_"What?" _said Harry and Levina.

"Yeah, I know!" said Ron, laughing. "He told me after Potions! Said she's always been really nice, helping him out with work and stuff-but she told him she was already going with someone. Ha! As if! She just didn't want to go with Neville...I mean, who would?"

"I don't think she was lying," said Levina, "and it's not funny!"

"Don't," said Ginny, annoyed, "Don't laugh-"

Just then Hermione climbed through the portrait hole.

"Why weren't you two at dinner?" she said, coming over to join them.

"Because-oh shut up laughing, you two-because they've both been turned down by girls they asked to the ball!" said Ginny.

"Thanks a bunch, Ginny," said Ron sourly.

"All the good ones taken, Ron?" said Hermione loftily. "Eloise Midgen starting to look pretty now, is she? Well, I'm sure you'll find _someone _who'll have you."

But Ron was staring at Hermione in a whole new light.

"Hermione, Neville's right-you _are _a girl..."

"Oh well spotted," she said acidly.

"Nice, Ron," said Levina. "Real nice."

"Well-can you come with one of us?"

"No, I can't," snapped Hermione.

"Oh come on, we need partners, we're going to look really stupid if we haven't got any, everyone else has..."

"I can't come with you," said Hermione, "because I'm already going with someone."

"No, you're not! You just said that to get rid of Neville," said Ron.

Levina glared at him. "Ron, stop being stupid-"

"Oh _did _I?" said Hermione, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Just because it's taken _you _three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one _else _has spotted I'm a girl!"

Ron stared at her. Then he grinned again.

"Okay, okay, we know you're a girl. That do? Will you come now?"

"I've already told you, I'm going with someone else!" said Hermione angrily.

And she stormed off to the girl's dormitories.

"Good job, Ron," said Levina.

"She's lying," said Ron flatly.

"She's not," said Ginny.

"Who is it then?"

"I'm not telling you, it's her business," said Ginny.

"Right, this is getting stupid. Ginny, _you _can go with Harry, and I'll just-"

"I can't, I'm going with-with Neville. He asked me and I thought...well...I'm not going to be able to go otherwise, I'm not in fourth year," said Ginny, going scarlett. "I think I'll go have diner."

And she vanished through the portrait hole.

"What about you, Levina?'" said Ron, turning to look at her. "I suppose _you're _a girl-"

"You _suppose?" _said Levina hotly.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Yes, you're a girl. Come with me to the ball?"

"I can't," said Levina.

"Why not?"

"I'm already going with someone," said Levina, feeling her face begin to burn red.

Ron laughed. "Levina, I'm serious. You can go with me or Harry-"

"I just told you!" said Levina icily. "I'm going with someone!"

"Who then?"

Levina flushed red. "Quite frankly, it's none of your business!"

And she stormed off to the girl's dormitory where Hermione had gone, steaming with anger.

The house elves were outdoing themselves with delicious stews and puddings, and the decorations were beautiful. Snow had covered the grounds in a beautiful white layer and Levina was in a cheerful mood more often than not.

"Oooh, there's a tragedy," said Hermione one evening as Fleur Delacour complained about the fattening Hogwarts food. "She really think a lot of herself, that one, doesn't she?"

"Hermione-who are you going to the ball with?" said Ron.

He kept springing the question in hope of startling her into a response.

"I'm not telling you, you'll just make fun of me."

"You're joking, Weasley!" said Draco, behind them. "You're not telling me someone's asked _that _to the ball? Not the long-molared Mudblood?"

Levina, Harry, and Ron whipped around, but Hermione said loudly, waving to somebody over Draco's shoulder, "Hello Professor Moody!"

Draco went pale and jumped backward, looking wildly around for Moody, but he was still up at the staff table finishing his stew.

"Twitchy little ferret, aren't you?" said Hermione scathingly as they passed.

"What about you?" said Draco to Levina, "Surely _you _haven't been asked? I couldn't imagine anyone in their right mind who would-"

"For your information," said Levina, her anger level rising, "I _have _in fact been asked, and I _did _in fact say yes."

And she turned on her heel and followed the others up the marble staircase, seething.

"Hermione," said Ron, looking sideways at her, "your teeth..."

"What about them?" she said.

"Well, they're different..."

"Of course they are-did you expect me to keep those fangs Malfoy gave me?"

"No, I mean they're different...They're all...straight and-and normal-sized."

"Well, when I went up to Madame Pomfrey to get them shrunk, she held a mirror up and asked me to stop her when they were back to how they normally were...and I just let her carry on a bit," said Hermione, grinning mischievously.

Once they'd reached the top of the stairs, Levina waved goodbye and headed down to the courtyard and into the snow, where Destiny waved to her happily from a bench by the fountain. She had snow covering her long black hair and she was holding her shawl around her head.

"Hello," she greeted. "I've got good news; Eric says he's able to take the dragons!"

"That's wonderful!" said Levina cheerfully. "I'm sure they'll be pleased, too."

"Yeah, but he's got to keep them in the forest for now. It's chilly, but he put up some enchantments, so they should be-oh!"

Destiny suddenly pulled her shawl over her head and looked away, blushing.

"Hey Levina."

George had appeared next to them.

"Oh, hi," said Levina.

Without pulling her aside and without the slightest trace of embarrassment, he turned to Destiny and said, "Want to go to the ball with me?"

Destiny looked surprised but strangely very pleased as she pulled her shawl down. "Yes!"

"All right then," said George happily. "See you in the common room, Levina."

The moment he had returned back indoors, Levina turned and stared at Destiny. "He was the one you were holding out for?"

"Yes," said Destiny again, blushing.

Levina felt a sudden rush of affection for Destiny; she was very rich and high-class, and so many very wealthy and high-class guys had asked her out, yet she had chosen to go with George Weasley, who was, sadly, unmistakably quite poor.

"I think that's brilliant," said Levina, "I'm going with his twin brother!"

"Really?" said Destiny. "That's insanely brilliant!"

And they returned to the castle in an increasingly good mood.

* * *

Levina awoke abruptly on Christmas day to find Lilypad lying across her chest, prodding her nose with her paw.

_"Lily!" _said Levina. "Cut it out!"

"Are you all right?" said Hermione, sitting up and rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Yeah, sorry," said Levina. "Oh, hey-presents!"

Levina leaned down and scooped an assorted amount of boxes onto the bed. Hermione had given her a new book called _Quidditch: A Beaters Guide; _Ron, a bag of chocolate cauldrons; Sirius, a new notepad to write down what she said and a box of Berti Botts; Hagrid, a box filled to the brim with a variety of sweets, and Mrs. Weasley's usual package of a purple sweater with a dragon on it, and a large quantity of homemade pies.

Even Destiny had gotten her something; a gorgeous blue bracelet with silver dragons carved along the sides.

Just as Levina was opening a box of Coconut Ice from Fred and George, there was a soft tapping on the window. She sat up to find Athena sitting on the windowsill with a large package.

"What's this?" said Levina.

Levina tugged the package away and placed it on her bed. The note read "Your dress robes, from Mrs. Weasley. These used to be your mother's, I had them sent from Dumbledore."

"I'll open this tonight before the ball," said Levina happily. "My mother's dress...I didn't even know she had any."

Levina and Hermione met up with Harry and Ron in the common room and went down to breakfast together. They spent most of their time up in the common room playing with Wizarding Crackers, but they returned to the Great Hall for a turkey lunch.

They went out onto the grounds in the afternoon; the snow was untouched except for the deep channels made by the Durmstrang and Beaxubatons students on their way up to the castle. They engaged in a snowball fight with Fred and George, which Levina was quite good at, seeing as she always had to dodge bludgers.

"Look out!" called Levina; she whacked Ron upside the head with one just as George hit her in the back of the head with a pile of slush.

At around five o' clock, Levina and Hermione announced that they would be returning to the dormitories to get ready for the ball.

"What, you need three hours?" said Ron as he got hit with a snowball on the side of the head. "Who're you going with?" he yelled after Hemione.

Back in the girl's dorm, Levina unwrapped the parcel from Athena and untied the ribbon.

Inside, there was a beautiful icy-blue dress. It was strapless and had cut-offs on the thighs and had different tints in it.

"Wow, that's beautiful!" said Hermione from beside her. "That was your mother's?"

"Apparently," said Levina in awe, staring at it. She washed off the slush and snow off herself and slipped into it. It fit perfectly.

Hermione unwrapped a dress from her parents, and it, too, was blue, only periwinkle.

"That's so pretty!" Levina commented.

"Thanks," said Hermione happily.

"So, can you tell me who you're going with?"

Hermione blushed. "Viktor Krum."

_"Krum?" _said Levina in amazement.

"That's why he was always in the library," said Levina, fiddling with her dress awkwardly. "He was trying to get the courage to ask me. What about you?"

"Fred," said Levina. She hastily looked away and began doing her hair.

"Fred Weasley?" said Hermione in surprise. "I suppose I can see that, you two do hang out an awful lot-"

"We're just friends," said Levina firmly. "Do you have any shoes I can borrow?"

"Well-I have some heels," said Hermione, holding up a pair. "But they're red-that doesn't really go with your dress..."

"No problem," said Levina. She stared hard at the shoes in concentration for a moment, and they turned ice-blue.

Hermione smiled slightly, but she still looked disapproving.

"What are you doing with your hair?" said Levina.

"This-" Using her wand and some sort of bottle of liquid, Hermione flattened her hair so that is was sleek and shiny, no longer bushy, and twisted it up into an elegant knot at the back of her head.

"That looks brilliantly amazing!" said Levina happily.

"Thanks," said Hermione, beaming. "What about you?"

Levina used her wand to very carefuly to make her long brown hair into smooth, soft curls that tumbled down her shoulders. She hardly ever thought much of it, but upon looking at herself in the mirror, she thought she actually looked very pretty.

"You look amazing!" said Hermione in awe as Levina stepped out from behind the curtains to her four-poster bed.

"Thank you!" said Levina happily. To complete her outfit, she put in two blue earrings and sprayed a quick perfume over herself.

"Ready to go?" said Hermione.

"Yeah."

Together, they went down to the common room to find it was already emptied.

"Think everyone's already downstairs?" said Levina.

"Probably."

They headed out of the portrait hole and down the stairs, but halfway to the Great Hall, Viktor Krum emerged from the shadows, dressed in his own robes.

"Hermy-own," he said in a very thick accent, bowing to her. "You vook stunning. Shall ve go down?"

Hermione beamed, then turned to Levina. "Do you mind if I-?"

"No, not at all," said Levina. "I'm going to find Fred..."

But Levina didn't have to look very far; when she reached the stairs to the Great Hall, she found him standing at the top of them wearing very handsome robes, looking around for her.

Levina crept down the stairs, but it wasn't hard to avoid the crowd, for everyone had already gone in through the open doors to the Great Hall. Levina came up behind Fred and gave him a light tap on the shoulder.

Fred turned around, but for a moment he didn't seem to recognize her and merely looked confused.

"Hi," she greeted.

"Wow," said Fred after a moment. "You look beautiful."

Levina was all to aware that her face had gone scarlett. "Th-thanks. You look really good too."

Fred lead her down to the ball with one arm draped around her shoulders. Dozens of heads turned as they headed into the hall, but none of them were Harry or Ron. Levina glanced around, and finally she spotted Harry sitting with Parvati Patil at the head table next to Percy Weasley and the other champions.

As Levina looked for Ron, she suddenly spotted someone watching her; it was Draco Malfoy. He was standing in black velvet robes with a high collar, and Pansy Parkinson was clutching his arm, decked out in disgustingly pink frilly robes. Draco had a strange look on his face Levina couldn't decipher. It was like a combination of utter surprise and...bitterness? Or anger?

"Let's find a couple of seats," said Fred, glancing around the hall. "Oh, hey! There's George!"

George was sitting in robes like Fred's near the end of one of the tables. Destiny was next to him; she looked absolutely stunning in a long silvery dress. Her pretty black hair was tied back into a messy bun leaving a few strands over her ocean-blue eyes.

"Levina!" she called as they approached. She looked very pleased, sitting next to George, and she was holding his hand under the table.

Fred and Levina sat down next to them, and on their right, Ron and Padma Patil sat down.

"Hi, Ron," said Levina.

First, Ron looked at her in unflattering disbelief, his jaw hanging open lopsided. Then, he noticed Fred next to her, and his jaw, if possible, dropped more. He looked from her to Fred and back.

There were glittering golden plates with small menus lying across them. Levina picked hers up, confused.

"What are we supposed to do with these?"

"Pork chops!" said George clearly, and, to Levina's amazement, pork chops appeared on his plate.

"Oh," said Levina. She scanned her menu. "Then...steak!"

A large steak accompanied by mashed potatoes, bread, and corn appeared on her plate. Fred ordered the pork chops, like George, and Destiny got curry chicken.

Levina ate hers as properly as she could, which was difficult, being the werewolf she was. Next to her, Destiny was in a very vibrant discussion with George.

"-And Ryuu blasted a hole straight through my father's room!" she laughed. "Like this big!" she stretched out her arms as far as they would go to emphasize the effect.

George laughed. "You know, our brother Charlie works with dragons, too."

"Yeah, I think Eric has mentioned him before," said Destiny cheerfully.

Levina wondered if she should be making conversation with Fred; on any average day, it was far too easy to discuss whatever was on her mind with him, but today, she just felt awkward.

She shoveled more mashed potatoes into her mouth.

When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore waved his hand and the tables returned to the corners of the room, and he conjured a large raised platform into existence against one of the walls for a band to play on.

The Weird Sisters, apparently a popular Wizarding band, trooped onto the stage and began to play a slow, mournful song.

All of the champions got to their feet, and Levina could see Hermione and Harry among them. They entered the dance floor and began to waltz among each other slowly.

Sooner or later, the other people in the Great Hall began to step onto the dance floor, making the champions less the center of attention.

"Want to go?" asked Destiny excitedly; she and George ran onto the dance floor and Destiny pulled him into the dance steps easily, trotting elegantly along the floor.

Levina felt Fred's hand grasp hers and the heat flushed to her face once more.

"Shall we?"

Why was his voice so charming then? Levina shook her head wearily, sighed heavily, and nodded. They made their way onto the dance floor and Fred's hands held hers. They danced rather close, their faces merely inches from each other's, and Levina felt very distracted as they danced. Several times, she forgot about her lessons with Destiny and accidently stepped on his foot.

"Sorry!" she apologized.

Fred merely laughed at this. "Stop worrying so much."

Twice she passed Harry as they danced and she smiled and waved to him; Harry looked stunned for a moment, but he returned the smile seconds later and vanished with Parvati in the crowd of people.

After an eternity, the song ended and was replaced by one much higher-paced. They left the dance floor and went to find the others near the tables.

"I'll get us some drinks," Fred offered.

"Hi, Harry," said Levina, approaching him; Parvati was already gone, but Ron was sitting next to him, looking grumpy.

"Hi, Levina," said Harry. "All right?"

"Yeah, how are you?"

"All right," said Harry, but he didn't look to happy; he was watching Cho across the dance floor.

Levina smiled. "You'll get your chance," she whispered, winking.

"Hi," said Hermione, taking Parvati's empty seat. "Hot, isn't it?"

"I know!" said Levina, glad to make conversation.

"Viktor's gone to get some drinks," said Hermione, fanning herself with her hand.

_"Viktor?" _said Ron. "Hasn't he asked you to call him _Vicky _yet?"

Hermione looked surprised. "What's up with you?"

"If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you," said Ron scathingly.

"Excuse me?" said Levina, frowning. "What are you going on about?"

"Ron, what-?" said Hermione.

"He's from Durmstrang!" spat Ron. "He's competing against Harry! Against Hogwarts, You-you're-_fraternizing with the enemy_, that's what you're doing!"

Hermione's mouth fell open and Levina glared at him.

"Don't be stupid! The _enemy! _Honestly-who was the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory?"

Ron chose to ignore this. "I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?"

"Yup," said Levina.

"Yes, he did," said Hermione. "So what?"

"What happened-trying to get him to join _spew, _were you?"

"Stop it, Ron!" said Levina angrily.

"Stay out of this!" snapped Ron.

Levina could feel her blood boiling dangerously. "Fine," she said curtly. "Fine." She turned away on her heel and nearly ran into Fred, who was returning with butterbeers.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Ron," she snarled.

"Of course," said Fred cheerfully. "George and I have just been to see Ludo Bagman-he's still shoving us off."

"I'm sure you'll get to him eventually," said Levina.

Another very slow song started and Fred took her hand.

"One more?" he asked.

"Couldn't hurt," said Levina.

Most of the people had left the dance floor and the Great Hall, for that matter, but Levina could see Destiny with George. She appeared to be having a very good time; she was dancing close to him, their foreheads against each others and their hands locked.

Levina and Fred stepped onto the floor, but the mood was different this time; Fred's hands went to Levina's waist and he drew her own up to his shoulders, around his neck. They were very close together like Destiny and George, and Levina could feel her heart thudding rapidly in her chest.

They danced like that for a while, close to each other with the sound of the music playing around them.

At some point, Levina could see Draco across the room standing was Pansy, who was attempting to slow dance with him, but he wasn't paying her much mind. The strange thing was, he was watching Levina with the same expression he'd had before.

What was his problem, honestly? Of course they hated each other, but he didn't have to shoot her dirty looks every five seconds.

After a while, Levina and Fred left the floor when the song had ended. Levina announced that her feet were sore from her high heels and that she wanted to return to the common room, so they headed down an empty corridor.

It was dark out now and the hall was deserted; almost everyone had left or was still in the Great Hall.

As Levina walked, she wondered if Hermione was still with Krum in the Great Hall. She hadn't seen her, but she might have been getting drinks. Maybe-

Fred suddenly stopped halfway down the dark hall. Levina halted beside him, confused.

"What is it?"

Fred turned to face her. "You're so beautiful tonight, Levina," he whispered.

Why did he look strangely so handsome then? Levina stared into his eyes and they stood rooted on the spot, facing each other.

"Fred-" Levina began.

Before Levina knew what was happening, Fred had leaned in close and his lips had met hers. It was incredible, the warm feeling that arose in Levina then. Their lips locked together blissfully and he leaned her against the wall behind her, one hand on the wall and one in her hair.

They were the only ones in the world then, she and Fred, Fred and Levina. Time seemed to come to a halt then, as though nothing could come between them, and Fred turned his head to angle them better.

Levina wasn't sure how much time passed, but after a moment, they finally parted.

On Levina's right, down the corridor, she could have sworn she saw a streak of pale, white-blonde hair vanish around the corner. She shrugged it off.

"Sorry," said Fred.

"Sorry?" said Levina. "For what?"

"Taking you by surprise," said Fred.

Levina laughed. "Don't apologize for that, you doofus!" she punched his shoulder.

It was just like old times then. Only better.

"I'm going to find Hermione," said Levina. "I'll see you later!"

Levina left down the corridor, grinning to herself and in a good mood. As she turned the corner, she ran straight into someone.

It was Draco.

"Sorry," said Levina flatly. She continued walking.

"You and Weasley are getting pretty close, huh?" he said in a very bitter way. "Snogging up the corridor."

Levina stopped in her tracks and turned around. "What?"

"Couldn't keep your hands off each other?" sneered Draco.

"What's the matter with you?" said Levina, taking a step towards him. "Were you watching me or something?"

Draco went red. "No, you were blocking up the corridor I was going to walk down!"

"What, couldn't go around us?" said Levina angrily. "What's it to you, anyway? Snog the pug lately?"

"If you're talking about Pansy-"

"Yeah, I am!" said Levina, glaring. "And I don't even see what your problem is!"

"Nothing!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

And Levina stormed off down the corridor, fuming with anger.

* * *

**Whew! Finally done with this chapter-the Yule Ball was so much fun to type.**

**Things to come: Rita Skeeter's scoop, Hagrid, and more!**

**Review!**


	8. Hostages?

**Ok, I'd just like to start off with an apology (as usual). These past few weeks have been TREMENDOUSLY busy and I've had so much work to do, so I'm sorry for the huge delay!**

**Silvermoony77: Whoa, lots of reviews! (Not that it's a bad thing) Yay, I'm happy :) Thanks a ton, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapters. Yeah, Draco and Levina are gradually drawing together, but it's hard to keep him from going all OOC and stuff. Fred's an awesome guy, but I suppose you'll just have to keep reading to find out more :) But yeah, I thought about it when I typed the first Book with Norbert and I was like, 'hey, what if she could talk to him?' :D**

**Flyingwerecats: I know, right? Darn it, Draco! Why'd you have to go and make Levina all mad at you? Haha, thanks, I had the idea for the cousin for a while, but it drove me insane waiting to type the idea down.**

**Savvygurl101LunaRachel: Thank you, thank you! (Bows) Haha, I liked the Fred parts, too, but it took forever to type. As far as the dress, no, I just made it up, but that would have been a good idea, too. I saw the sktech today! It was hilarious! "Miiiiissss!" :) Take that, Umbridge.**

**Disclaimer: Oh, dear...if at this point you still think I'm JK Rowling, I suggest you go to a _very _special place where some nice people can help you fix that illusion. (:**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Levina awoke unusually late that following morning. The Gryffindor common room was oddly quiet and there was a chorus of yawns every few seconds.

Hermione's hair was no longer bushy anymore, but Levina was surprised to see she wasn't frowning and ignoring Ron. She confessed that she and Ron had reached an agreement to not speak of the Yule ball again, yet her eyes were rather red and puffy. This waranted Ron several glares from Levina throughout the morning.

Levina was in an ill-mannered mood as she talked with Harry about Hagrid being half-giant, but somehow, this news didn't surprise her. She was too irritated and tired to put much effort into thinking, so she merely nodded and mumbled an occasional, "Sure."

She felt slightly guilty, however, when Fred greeted her with a surprise hug from behind and she snapped at him about scaring her so much.

"Sorry," she added hastily as he turned away.

Were they dating? She couldn't tell; the Yule Ball was one thing, but it wasn't like he had announced she was his girlfriend or anything remotely like it. Perhaps he had merely needed someone to go with, and she had just happened to be there; the thought of it made her stomach churn sadly.

At the first day of the new term, Levina sluggishly trudged through the thick snow on her way to Care of Magical Creatures. Normally, she thoroughly enjoyed the class, but today, for some reason, she was out of it.

When they reached the cabin, Levina glanced around with a wince for the Skrewts, but they seemed to be no where in sight. Neither was Hagrid; an Elderly witch was in his place, calling for everyone to hurry up from the front of his cabin.

"Where's Hagrid?" said Levina the instant she reached her.

"Who're you?" said Ron.

"My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank. I am your temporary Care for Magical Creatures teacher."

"Where's Hagrid?" said Harry again.

"He is indisposed."

Levina frowned, but she didn't press the matter. There was soft and unpleasant laughter behind them and Draco Malfoy appeared, followed by the Slytherins.

"Oh, great," said Levina moodily at the sight of Draco. She still hadn't quite forgiven him for ruining her moment with Fred after the Yule Ball.

"Incoming," said Ron with a look at the Slytherins.

"Don't even start," said Levina as Draco opened his mouth when he reached her. "I'm not in the mood for a detention," she added, taking her wand out casually.

"This way, please," said Professor Grubbly-Plank before Draco could answer, gesturing them towards the forest. She led them past the Beauxbatons horse paddock and over to a tree where a large white unicorn was tethered.

Many of the girls "oooooohed!" at the sight of it.

"Aw," said Levina appreciatively.

"Oh it's so beautiful!" sighed Lavender Brown. "How did she get it? They're supposed to be really hard to catch!"

"Boys keep back!" barked Professor Grubbly-Plank. "They prefer the woman's touch. Girls to the front, and approach with care, easy does it..."

Levina headed over to the unicorn, behind Lavender, who was squealing with delight as she began to pet its mane. The unicorn closed its eyes and relaxed slightly.

When Levina reached it as Lavender backed away, looking pleased, she reached out a hand and touched its snout. It bent its head and allowed her to stroke its hair.

"It's so amazing," said Hermione happily behind Levina. "And they have loads of magical properties, right?"

"Of course you would know," said Levina.

She finished brushing its hair and allowed Hermione to go ahead. She returned to where Harry and Ron were, standing by Draco and a group of guy Slytherins. Ron and Harry were fuming.

"What?" said Levina when she reached them.

"Oh, good, you're here," said Draco, smirking. He held up a copy of _The Daily Prophet, _which Levina snatched away to read. "It's about your good, ugly oaf friend."

Harry advanced at him, but Professor Grubbly-Plank called, "Pay attention, boys!"

"And girl!" said Levina, exasperated.

Professor Grubbly-Plank ignored her.

Levina scanned the paper over, her jaw dropping as she read. "This is awful!" she gasped. Inside it, Rita Skeeter had bashed Hagrid about his blood being half-giant.

"You're full of crap," said Levina when she finished. "We don't all hate Hagrid, you prat! And Crabbe didn't even get bitten!"

Crabbe chuckled stupidly.

"The oaf's gone into hiding," said Draco, snatching the paper back with a second smirk. "Hilarious, isn't it?"

"Cruel," said Levina, her eyes narrowing, "incredibly, horribly cruel."

"And hilarious," said Draco.

"Are you paying attention over there?" called Professor Grubbly-Plank.

Seething, Levina turned away and kicked at a rock nearby; it sailed at least thirty feet away across the trees and landed in the tall weeds.

"I hate Malfoy," said Levina as they headed back up to the castle for lunch. "I hate him, I hate him, I hate him."

"How could Rita have known about Hagrid?" said Ron beside her. "I mean, it's not like he told her..."

"She must have overheard him and Madame Maxime," said Levina.

"No," said Harry, "we were alone in the garden."

"She's horrible!" said Hermione angrily.

"She's banned from the school, at least," said Ron. "But that doesn't explain how she knew, then."

"Maybe she's got an Invisibilty Cloak," Harry suggested.

"I doubt it," said Levina as she tore into her chicken casserole. "How many cloaks can there be, anyway?"

But as the week progressed, Hagrid didn't show his face during class and didn't even appear in the Great Hall for meals. Levina knocked on his cabin every chance she got, but each time all she earned was a deep bark from Fang.

Levina began to worry for Hagrid; surely he didn't think they didn't like him anymore? It also didn't help that Draco kept jeering at her every chance he got, whispering things like, "Miss your half-breed pal?" every time a teacher was nearby, so that she couldn't slug him.

There was a Hogsmeade trip halfway through January. Levina was glad for the break from the massive school work she was recieving, and it opened up an opprotunity for her to see Destiny.

Destiny met up with their group on the way to Hogsmeade, holding a stack of books in her arms in a very Hermione-ish way. Ron acted very foolish the instant she showed up, tripping over his own feet and earning a glare from Hermione.

"Hi," he said with a very dreamy look.

"Hello," said Destiny. "I got you any books I could find in the carriage," she added to Levina, holding them out for her to take.

"Thanks," said Levina; she'd requested Destiny to look for any books on color-changing spells.

"Ooh, you have a library?" said Hermione curiously.

"Of course," said Destiny cheerfully. "But they're mostly on history. The things here are far more interesting."

As they passed the Durmstrang ship, Levina looked up to see Viktor Krum on the deck of it, wearing nothing but swim trunks. He stepped out, stretched out his arms, and dove straight into the lake.

"He's mad!" said Harry. "It must be freezing, it's January!"

"Maybe it's a sport where he comes from...?" said Destiny curiously.

"It's a lot colder where he's from," said Hermione. "I suppose it feels quite warm to him."

"Yeah, but _swimming_?" said Levina. "He must be half polar bear or something."

"But there's still the Giant Squid," said Ron in a hopeful tone. Hermione seemed to notice it.

"He's really nice, you know," she said. "He's not at all like you'd think, coming from Durmstrang. He likes it much better here, he told me."

Levina could feel a tension rising between the two and hastily said, "So, Hogsmeade?"

"Oooh, I'd fancy a butterbeer," said Destiny, glancing hopefully ahead.

"You've had one before?" said Ron with interest.

"Oh yes," said Destiny. "My mum loved them; she used to buy them for me all the time as a kid."

"What was your mom's name, anyway?" said Levina. "You never told me."

"Celeste Levesque," said Destiny in a thick accent.

Ron was staring at her. "Do you know French?"

"Oui."

They reached the Three Broomsticks and found a table in the back. The pub was incredibly crowded, but there was still no sign of Hagrid. Levina sighed and watched Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they left to get butterbeers from Madame Rosmerta.

"So," said Levina, "I didn't know you could speak French."

"Of course I can," said Levina. "Even Dad knows it, mum taught him before I was born. My grandma and Eric know it too, so they speak it a lot. Pass les serviettes," she added.

"Uh," said Levina.

"The napkins," said Destiny, smiling a pearly-white grin. "I said pass the napkins."

Harry, Hermione, and Ron returned with five steaming butterbeers. Levina took hers and sipped from it, earning a mustache of white cream.

"So, the dragons are doing well," said Destiny happily, wiping foam off her cheek. "Eric can't have them until the end of this year; it's too dangerous to relocate them now. But they're fine, all the same, just a bit cold."

"That's brilliant," said Harry, but Levina just barely caught the sarcasm. She looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"What?"

"Levina, the dragon tried to _kill _me!"

"Only because you took her egg," said Destiny calmly, sipping her butterbeer.

Harry stared at her. "I had to, it was the task!"

"Ilonca's not that bad," said Levina defensively. "She was just trying to protect her nest, you know."

"Couldn't you have told her off?" said Harry irritably.

"But that would have been cheating!" said Hermione, before Levina could answer.

"Harry! How are you?"

Ludo Bagman had appeared next to their table, beaming.

"Uh," said Harry. "Fine, thanks."

"Wonder if I could have a private word with you, Harry?" said Bagman eagerly. "You couldn't give us a moment, you four, could you?"

"Er-okay," said Ron, and Harry was led away to a corner by Bagman, looking confused.

"I wonder what he wants to know?" said Levina.

"Maybe it has something to do with his friends?" said Destiny, gesturing to an unfriendly-looking group of goblins at one of the tables near him.

"Hi."

Fred and George had appeared next to their table, both looking at Bagman with looks of dislike.

"Hi, George!" said Destiny, sitting up so abruptly that some of her butterbeer slopped onto the counter.

"Hey, Destiny," said George, shooting her a grin.

"How's the 'project' going?" said Levina, looking from Bagman to Fred.

"No progress," said Fred unhappily.

"What project?" said Ron.

"The one where we tell you to mind your own business," said George.

And they left to go talk to Bagman, who looked slightly hassled. Shortly after they had begun talking to him, Harry returned to their table.

"What did he want?" said Levina.

"He offered to help me with the Golden egg," said Harry as he sat down.

"He shouldn't be doing that!" said Hermione, shocked. "He's one of the judges! And anyway, you've already worked it out-haven't you?"

"Er...nearly," said Harry.

"Here, I'm going to get another butterbeer," said Destiny, getting up.

"I'll come with you," said Levina with a hasty look at Harry and Hermione, who had just given Harry a dirty look.

They reached the counter and Destiny took out her money from a small coin purse, placing the change onto the counter. As they waited for Madame Rosmerta to fill their drinks, they began discussing the dragons again in low tones.

"No one's supposed to know about us taking them," said Destiny quietly. "I mean, they _are_ technically illegal..."

"If Hagrid knew what you were doing," said Levina, shaking her head, "oh, he'd be _so _jealous..."

"But it's such hard work," said Destiny. "Dragons are an enormous responsibility, especially Ryuu; he's so needy."

"Yeah, and the other ones are bit testy," said Levina, but she suddenly caught notice of the door opening to reveal none other than Rita Skeeter herself.

Levina and Destiny exchanged a look; Destiny grabbed up her steaming butterbeer off the counter and they ran back to their table.

"Here comes bad news," said Levina to Harry, panting as she reached them.

"Oh no," Hermione groaned.

"Trying to ruin someone else's life?" Harry called loudly.

A few people turned and Rita Skeeter's eyes widened as she saw Harry.

"Harry!" she said, beaming. "How lovely! Why don't you come and join-?"

"I wouldn't come near you with a ten-foot broomstick," said Harry furiously. "What did you do that to Hagrid for, eh?"

"Our readers have a right to the truth. I am merely doing my-"

"Who cares if he's half-giant?" Harry shouted. "There's nothing wrong with him!"

The whole entire pub had gone very quiet. Madame Rosmerta was absentmindedly overfilling a mug with butterbeer.

"How about giving me an interview?" said Rita, pulling out her quick-quill and notebook. "About the Hagrid you know? The man behind the muscles? Your unlikely friendship and reasons behind it. Would you call him a father substitute."

Levina could feel her blood boiling dangerously and Destiny was now facing Rita with a look of great dislike.

"You horrible woman," said Hermione suddenly through gritted teeth. "You don't care, do you, anything for a story, and anyone will do, won't they? Even Ludo Bagman-"

"Sit down, you silly girl, and don't talk about things you don't understand," said Rita coldly. "I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl..._not _that it needs it-" she added, looking at her hair.

"At least it's natural!" Levina shouted. "Look at _your _hair-how many chemicals did you use in it exactly? Sixty-two?"

Rita Skeeter turned on her.

"Ah, Levina!" she said, unfazed. "You're here. Lovely. Mind a quick interview on your views of-?"

"You know what would be 'lovely'?" said Levina coldly, taking a few steps towards her. "If you would just fall down a deep, dark hole and never come back!"

"Let's go," said Hermione. "C'mon—"

Levina was all too aware of the eyes on her as she exited the pub, but she didn't care.

"She'll be after you two next," said Ron in a low voice as they walked quickly back up the street.

"Let her try!" said Hermione defiantly. "I'll show her! Silly girl, am I? Oh, I'll get her back for this. First Harry, then Hagrid…"

"She can do what she wants," said Levina. "Isn't that what she does anyway?"

"You don't want to go upsetting Rita Skeeter," said Ron nervously. "I'm serious, Levina, she'll dig up something on both of you-"

"My parents don't read _The Daily Prophet. _She can't scare me into hiding!" said Hermione, now striding along so fast that it was all Levina could do to keep up with her. "And Hagrid isn't hiding anymore! He should _never _have let that excuse for a human being upset him! Come _on!"_

"And my family's muggles," said Levina. "So unless Destiny starts blabbing-"

Destiny looked horrified. "Never! I hardly know anything even about you, but if I did, I would _never _tell that ghastly woman anything she could-"

"I was joking," said Levina, grinning.

"Well, I guess I'll see you lot later, then," said Destiny. She waved a quick goodbye and took off towards the Beauxbatons carriage.

Once she was gone, they broke into a run following Hermione down to Hagrid's hut, where the curtains were still drawn and they could hear Fang barking.

"Hagrid!" Hermione shouted, pounding on his front door. "Hagrid, that's enough! We know you're in there! Nobody cares if your mum was a giantess! You can't let that foul Rita Skeeter woman do this to you, Hagrid!"

"Open up!" Levina chorused, slamming her fists rappidly onto the wood. "Hagrid, stop acting ridiculous! We're your friend! Everyone knows Rita's a hag-"

"Get out here!" said Hermione. "You're just being-"

The door opened. Hermione went pale instantly for, in the doorway, was Albus Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon," he said pleasantly, smiling down at them.

"We-er-wanted to see Hagrid," said Hermione in a small voice.

"Yes, I surmised as much," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "Why don't you come in?"

"Oh...um...okay," said Hermione.

"Thanks," said Levina confidently, striding in to see him.

Fang launched himself onto Levina and licked her ears the moment she entered, knocking her into one of the cabinets, which rattled.

Hagrid was sitting at the table, looking a mess. His face was blotchy, his eyes were swollen, and his hair was like a huge dead rat.

"Hi, Hagrid," said Harry.

Hagrid looked up.

"'Lo," he said hoarsley.

"More tea, I think," said Dumbledore, and he closed the door. He magicked a tea tray into the air along with a plate of cakes and he placed them on the table. Levina sat down abruptly in one of the chairs and there was a slightly awkward pause as everyone made themselves comfortable.

"Did you by any chance hear what Mrs. Granger and Mrs. Snowpetal were shouting, Hagrid?" said Dumbledore.

Hermione went slightly pink and Levina sunk a bit in her seat, but Dumbledore smiled at them and continued, "Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Levina still seem to want to know you, judging by the way they were attempting to break down the door."

"Of course we do!" said Harry, looking astonished.

"Why wouldn't we?" Levina demanded. "Your mum could've been a troll and I'd still want to know you!"

"You don't think anything that Rita Skeeter cow-sorry, Professor," Harry added quickly, looking at Dumbledore.

"I have gone temporarily deaf and haven't any idea what you said, Harry," said Dumbledore, twiddling his thumbs and staring at the ceiling.

"Er-right," said Harry sheepishly. "I just mean-Hagrid, how could you think we'd care what that-woman-wrote about you?"

Two fat tears leaked out of Hagrid's beetle-black eyes and fell onto his tangled beard.

"Living proof of what I've been telling you, Hagrid," said Dumbledore, still looking at the ceiling. "I have shown you letters from countless parents who remember you from their own days here, telling me in no uncertain terms that if I sacked you, they would have something to say about it-"

"Not all of 'em," said Hagrid hoarsley. "Not all of 'em want me ter stay."

"Yeah, well," said Levina, "none of the Slytherins want me to stay, and that's not stopping me."

"A good point, Levina," said Dumbledore. "Really, Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal popularity, I am afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time. Not a week has passed since I became headmaster of this school when I haven't had at least one owl complaining about the way I run it. But what should I do? Barricade myself in my study and refuse to talk to anybody?"

"Yeh-yeh're not half-giant!" said Hagrid croakily.

"Hagrid, look what I've got for relatives!" said Harry furiously. "Look at the Dursleys!"

"Yet another excellent point," said Dumbledore. "My own brother, Aberfoth, was prosecuted for practicing innapropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the papers, but did Aberforth hide? No, he did not! He held his head high and went about his business as usual! Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery..."

Levina stared at Dumbledore blankly. He had a brother? Why had she never heard anything about him?

"Come back and teach, Hagrid," said Hermione quietly, "please come back, we really miss you."

"Yeah, you're one of the few teachers who remembers by gender," Levina added.

Hagrid gulped. More tears leaked out down his cheeks.

Dumbledore stood up. "I refuse to accept your resignation, Hagrid, and I expect you back at work on Monday," he said. "You will join me for breakfast at eight-thirty in the Great Hall. No excuses. Good afternoon to you all."

Dumbledore left the cabin, pausing only to scratch Fang's ears. When the door had shut behind him, Hagrid began to sob into his massive hands. Hermione patted his arm, and at last, Hagrid looked up, his eyes incredibly red, and said, "Great man, Dumbledore...great man..."

"Yeah, he is," said Ron. "Can I have one of these cakes, Hagrid?"

"Help yerself," said Hagrid, wiping his eyes. "Ar, he's right, o' course-yeh're all righ'...I bin stupid...my ol' dad woulda bin ashamed o' the way I've been behavin'...Never shown you a picture of me old dad, have I? Here..."

Hagrid got up and went over to his dresser, where he pulled out a picture of a short wizard with Hagrid's crinkled black eyes, beaming as he sat on top of Hagrid's shoulder. Hagrid was a good seven or eight feet tall, but even with his beard, he looked hardly eleven.

"Tha' was taken jus' after I got inter Hogwarts," Hagrid croaked. "Dad was dead chuffed...thought I migh' not be a wizard, see, 'cos me mum...well, anyway. 'Course, I never was great shakes at magic, really...but at least he never saw me expelled. Died, see, in me second year..."

Hermione looked like she might start crying. Levina took the photograph and looked sadly at it, understanding of how he felt.

"Dumbledore was the one who stuck up for me after Dad went. Got me the gamekeeper job...trusts people, he does. Gives 'em second chances. He'll accept anyone, as long as they've got talent. Knows people can turn out okay even if their families weren'...we...all tha' respectable. 'Never be ashamed,' my 'ol dad used ter say, 'there's some who'll hold it against you, but they're not worth botherin' with. An' he was right, I've bin an idiot. I'm not botherin' with _her _no more, I promise yeh that. Big bones...I'll give her big bones."

Levina, Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another nervously; Levina would rather walk blast-ended skrewts with Draco Malfoy than admit she'd heard his conversation with Madam Maxime from Harry and Ron.

"Yeh know wha', Harry, Levina? When I firs' met yeh, yeh reminded me o' me a bit. Mum and Dad gone, and you was feelin' like yeh wouldn't fit in, right? An' now look at yeh two! School champion and amazin' quidditch flier, that's what yeh are..."

Levina flushed pink, bit she didn't say anything.

"How you doin' with that egg, Harry?"

"Great," said Harry, and Levina just caught the lie in his tone. "Really great."

"Tha's my boy...you show 'em, Harry, you show 'em. Beat 'em all."

Harry looked uncomfortable, but he managed a small smile. Hagrid turned to Levina.

"Heard yeh cousin got a couple o' dragons on her hands," he said with an obvious tone of envy. "Charlie says her cousin Eric's bringin' 'em home at the end o' th' year."

"That's right," said Levina. "Apparently she has a large plot of land that can hold them."

"An' you...yeh can...can talk ter 'em, right?" said Hagrid quietly.

"Yeah," said Levina.

There was no mistaking the jealous look Hagrid wore. "Norbert ever talk to yeh?"

"He was too young," said Levina. "He wasn't old enough to say more than 'mum'."

"Let me know how they turn out," said Hagrid.

By the time Levina went to bed that night, she pulled the covers over her head and allowed Lilypad to curl up next to her. Yawning, she turned out the light and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of dragons and Rita Skeeter telling the world of her abilities.

* * *

"You said you'd already worked out that egg clue!" said Hermione indignantly.

"Keep your voice down!" said Harry crossly. "I just need to-sort of fine-tune it, all right?"

"I'm just glad you weren't caught," said Levina; Harry had snuck down to the prefect bathroom, apparently told by Cedric to do so, and had figured out the egg clue only to be nearly caught by Snape and Argus Filch.

She, Ron, Hermione, and Harry were sitting in the back of Charms, practicing the Banishing Charm. They were supposed to make a cushion fly across the room and land in a box. Levina had gotten it down pretty well, so she doodled a picutre in her notebook while humming absentmindely, listening to the others bicker.

"Just forget the egg for a minute, all right?" Harry hissed as Professor Flitwick went past them, "I'm trying to tell you about Snape and Moody..."

Levina sent her cushion neatly into the box they were aiming for and she gave Harry a look. "You don't think Snape put your name in the Goblet, do you?"

"Remember the last time we thought Snape was trying to kill Harry?" said Hermione skeptically. "He was actually saving him."

"You're right, if it had been him, he would have put my name in, too," said Levina. "I still haven't forgotten him trying to poison me."

"I don't care what Moody says," Hermione went on. "Dumbledore's not stupid. He was right to trust Hagrid and Professor Lupin even though loads of people wouldn't have given them jobs, so why shouldn't he be right about Snape, even if Snape is a bit-"

"-Evil," said Ron promptly. "Come on, Hermione, why are all these Dark wizard catchers searching his office, then?"

"Why was Mr. Crouch pretending to be ill?" said Hermione, ignroring Ron. "It's a bit funny, isn't it, that he can't manage to come to the Yule Ball, but he can get up here in the middle of the night when he wants to?"

"Maybe the map was wrong," said Levina.

"Tha map's never wrong," said Harry.

* * *

By the evening before the second task, Levina found herself searching through various books in the library with Ron and Hermione, attempting to find something about breathing underwater.

"There's got to be a way of doing it!" said Hermione crossly. "There's got to be!"

"You might have to use some sort of charm," said Levina, turning the pages of _Aquatic Secrets _for the sixth time over. "I honestly can't find a single thing!"

Harry hit his head on the bookshelf, looking aggravated and exhausted.

"Wish I was an Animagus," he said wistfully.

"Yeah," said Ron, "you could've turn into a goldfish anytime you wanted!"

"Or a frog," said Harry.

"Or a shark," said Levina excitedly.

"Oh this is no use," said Hermione, snapping shut _Weird Wizarding Dilemmas. _"Who on earth wants to make their nose hair grow into ringlets?"

"I wouldn't mind," said Fred Weasley's voice. "Be a talking point, wouldn't it?"

Levina, Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked up. Fred and George had just emerged from behind some bookshelves.

"What are you two doing here?" said Ron.

"Looking for you," said George. "McGonagall wants you, Ron. And you too, Hermione, Levina."

"Why?" said Hermione, surprised.

"Dunno...she was looking a bit grim, though," said Fred.

Levina's heart skipped a beat. What had she done?

"We're supposed to take you down to her office," said George.

Levina looked at Harry; had Professor McGonagall found out about them helping him on the tournament?

"We'll meet you back in the common room," said Hermione as she got up. "Bring as many of these books as you can, okay?"

"Right," said Harry uneasily.

"Don't worry, okay?" said Levina. "We'll figure something out later."

The three of them exited the library with Fred and George at the front, leading them down the corridor towards McGonagall's office.

"So, how've you been?" said Fred when they were halfway down the corridor. Levina waited for someone else to answer, but when no one did, she realized he was talking to her.

"Oh-all right, yeah," said Levina. She could just about hear a voice in her head tempting her to ask him about the Yule Ball-had it honestly just been a one-time thing? Fred clearly had thought so. She shooed away the thought.

"Destiny all right?" said George from up ahead, looking over his shoulder at her.

"What? Oh," said Levina, shaking her head to clear her mind. "Uh, yeah. She's great."

"Yeah, I get to talk to her all the time," said Ron, looking suddenly about three feet taller as he walked.

"How're the dragons getting on?" said George, ignoring Ron.

"What dragons?" said Levina, hoping she sounded convincing.

"It's okay, Destiny told me about them," said George, grinning at the look on her face.

Levina was about to answer when she bumped into someone, sending both the books in her arms and theirs flying. For a moment, she thought it was Destiny being clumsy again, but the figure pulled a book off their head and there was sleek blonde hair-

"Watch it, klutz," said Draco Malfoy, scooping up his books.

"Look who's talking," said Levina.

"Levina," said Hermione, looking at Professor McGonagall's room, which was about thirteen feet away. "We need to-"

"Where're you going anyway?" said Draco, looking from Levina, Ron, and Hermione to the twins.

"None of your business, Malfoy," said Ron.

"Shove off," said George.

"Going to the match tomorrow?" said Draco, smirking at them. "Got your tissues ready for when Potter goes up?"

"Got a cast ready for when I kick your butt?" said Levina, advancing towards him.

Hermione grabbed Levina by the shoulder. "He's not worth it, honestly, come on-"

Shooting Draco a glare, Levina caught up with Fred and they opened the door to Professor McGonagall's room, leaving Draco alone in the hallway.

Professor McGonagall was sitting at her desk, looking indeed quite grim. Professor Dumbledore was standing beside her.

"Good evening," said Professor Dumbledore.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasleys," said Professor McGonagall.

Fred and George nodded and left out through the door, closing it shut behind them.

"Have we done something wrong?" said Hermione in a small voice.

"If this is about that exploding potion last week, it wasn't mine," said Levina.

"You are not in any trouble," said Professor Dumbledore. "You are here as part of the second task."

"Do what?" said Levina.

Professor Dumbledore smiled. "As you may or may not know, for the second task, our champions must retrieve something precious to them from the bottom of the lake during a time period of one hour."

Levina nodded, but she wasn't sure where he was going with this.

"Okay," said Ron, also looking confused.

"Something _very _precious to them," said Professor Dumbledore. He reached into the drawer of Professor McGonagall's desk and took out several long ropes.

"What are you-?" said Ron, but Levina already knew. She gasped.

"No way!"

Professor Dumbledore merely smiled and chuckled. "Yes, you four, as well as Fleur Delacour's sister and Cho Chang will be tied to the bottom of the sea for the champions to claim."

"But, sir," said Hermione, looking terrified. "I can barely breathe underwater for even a-"

"You will be put under an enchantment," said Professor McGonagall calmly, but she looked slightly pale still. "You will not feel anything, but you will wake up when you re-surface."

"Wait," said Levina, counting the number of people on her hands. "There are four champions, but there's five of us. How-"

"Yes," said Professor Dumbledore. "One of you is an extra. The champions will have to choose to help those closest to-"

"But that's mad!" said Hermione. "Sir," she added hastily. "I mean, that's like making them choose who they like better-"

"It is a test," said Professor McGonagall. "We want to see what they will do with what resources they have and see what decisions they make. And in any event, none of you will be harmed in any way."

"Well, where's Cho and Fleur's sister?" said Levina.

"Cho has already been put under the enchantment," said Professor Dumbledore. "Madame Maxime should be getting Gabrielle right now. In the meantime, we must put you under the spells."

Levina's instincts screamed at her to turn back, but she moved up against the wall with Ron and Hermione. Professor McGonagall bound the ropes tightly around all of them, making Levina feel slightly suffocated. She left a long line of it off their feet to tie onto the statue under the water. Then, Professor Dumbleore went around and began doing the charms on each of them.

Ron went first, and the moment the spell hit him, his head dropped and he fell limply to one side. Professor McGonagall looked even more white in the face, but she hastily grabbed him and helped him stand upright.

Hermione was second. Her eyes blinked twice and she fell like a rock against the wall, her eyes shutting. Once she and Ron had been enchanted into and upright position floating above the ground,

Professor Dumbledore pointed his wand at Levina. He waved it once, and Levina could feel herself begin to nod off. She tipped slightly to one side, then toppled over and everything went black.

_"-don't give a damn what you think!" a voice said harshly. Levina sat up, head pounding, to find herself sitting on the floor in her parent's old living room. Her father was standing in front of her mother, who had a rather large stomach that indicated she was pregnant._

_On the other side of the room, none other than Peter Pettigrew was sitting on the couch, looking terror-stricken._

_"I-I was merely suggesting-" said Peter, trembling._

_"Look, Peter," said Rick, pacing. "I know you just want to help. With these abilities our daughter will have, you may be right. She may be different than the other witches, but that will never be a reason to-to end her life before it begins!"_

_Peter cringed and hunched away slightly from him. "I-I didn't mean t-to offend you," he stammered. "But...you said the girl will in fact have powers from the moment she's born?"_

_"From the exact moment," said Rick, "and it will never make any difference to us what she's like. I would like you to leave now."_

Levina awoke with a start, spluttering. She choked on a mouthful of water and coughed several times.

"All right?" said a shaky voice; Harry had his arms around her waist, and Levina realized they were in the middle of the freezing cold lake, in front of everyone in the entire school. Levina blushed furiously and pulled away, shrugging the ropes off her shoulders.

"Peter Pettigrew," said Levina, finding her breath. Ron's head broke the surface beside her, and his hair was red and flattened wet.

"What?" said Harry, confused.

"Wet, isn't it?" said Ron. "What did you bring her for?" he added, looking at Fleur Delacour's sister.

"Fleur didn't turn up, I couldn't leave her," Harry panted.

"Don't tell me you brought all three of us up," said Levina, looking from herself to Ron and Fleur's sister.

"Harry, you prat," said Ron, "you didn't take that song thing seriously, did you? Dumbledore wouldn't let anyone of us drown!"

"The song said-"

"It was only to make sure you got back inside the time limit!" said Ron. "I hope you didn't waste time down there acting hero."

"Did you find a charm to use?" said Levina. "How'd you breathe underwater?"

"Dobby," said Harry.

"Dobby what?" said Levina.

"Look, I'll explain later. C'mon, help me with her, I don't think she can swim very well," said Harry, gesturing to Fleur's sister.

Levina helped swim her back to the bank with Harry and Ron, watching the people standing at the edge of the water watching them. Percy, who looked very white, came splashing out to meet them.

"Gabrielle! _Gabrielle! Is she alive? Is she 'urt?"_

Fleur Delacour looked quite deranged, attempting to pull away from Madame Maxime to get her sister.

"She's fine!" said Harry.

Percy seized Ron and was dragging him back to the bank. Dumbledore and Bagman were pulling Harry upright, and Fred came wading into the water to Levina.

"Hey," said Fred breathlessly; he looked slightly pale. "Have a nice nap?"

"Not really, actually," said Levina, recalling her new-found piece of evidence about her past. "Here, can we get to the bank? I need to sit down-"

But when they climbed out, Madame Pomfrey seized Levina and wrapped her tightly in a blanket much like a straightjacket. She poured a measure of a very hot potion into a mug and passed it to her, forcing her to drink. The potion made steam come out of her ears.

"I like the new look," said Fred, pulling a long strand of seaweed from Levina's hair.

"Very funny," said Levina, dropping down beside Hermione, who was squealing excitedly next to Harry.

Fred wrapped a second towel around Levina and pulled her closer to him. Levina noted that he was a lot warmer than she was.

"Levina!"

Destiny plowed past the judges, knocking Karakoff over backwards into the judges' table. She came hurtling at Levina at top speed and grabbed her into a tight embrace, her black hair wildly flying about her shoulders.

"Destiny!" said Levina, choking under her grip.

"I was so worried!" she gasped, letting Levina go and dropping down beside her. "When I realized what was going on, I thought for sure something would happen to you-"

"I'm fine!" said Levina, but she felt grateful towards her. It was like having a sister.

"George, she's ok!" she cried happily as George came into view.

Levina rolled her eyes, and Fred got up to go see George, waving her a hasty goodbye.

"You saved 'er," said Fleur from next to Levina. She was standing with Harry, looking rather bashed up. "Even though she was not your 'ostage."

"Yeah," said Harry, but he looked upset.

Fleur bent down, kissed Harry twice on each cheek, and then said to Ron, "And you too-you 'elped-"

"Yeah," said Ron, looking extremely hopeful, "yeah, a bit-"

Fleur swooped down on him too and kissed him. Hermione looked furious, and Levina stood up and went over to her.

"Guys are all prats," said Levina, but Hermione merely shook her head, glaring at Ron.

"Ladies and gentlemen," boomed Ludo Bagman's voice. "We have reached out decision. Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We awarded her twenty-five points."

"I deserve zero," said Fleur throatily.

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to reutrn with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside of the time limit of an hour. We therefore award him forty-seven points.

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points.

"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect. He returned last, well outside of the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all the hostages to safety, not merely his own."

Levina smiled at Harry and gave him a thumbs up.

"Most of the judges," said Bagman, and he gave Karakoff a very nasty look, " feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However...Mr Potter's score is forty-five points."

Levina's heart leapt-he was now tying in first place with Cedric! She cheered heartily and clapped, shouting, "Gryffindor! Gryffindor! Gryffindor!"

"There you go, Harry!" shouted Ron.

"The third and final task will take place on the twenty-fourth of June," continued Bagman. "The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you for all your support of the champions."

"Whew," said Harry as they were herded back to the castle. "Finally over."

"You did it!" said Levina, clapping him on the back. "That was brilliant!"

"Gillyweed," said Destiny, "who would've thought?"

"Y'know," said Harry, "next time I'm in Hogsmeade, I'm going to buy Dobby a pair of socks for every day of the year."

"Sounds like a plan," said Levina, nodding. "Oh, by the way...I wanted to talk to you about something. You and Hermione and Ron."

Destiny waved goodbye and raced off to join the Beauxbatons, and Harry pulled the three of them aside.

"When I was out, I had a dream," said Levina quietly.

"Another flashback?"

"Yeah, only this time, it was before I was born. Peter Pettigrew was at my parents house, probably not long before I was born and he betrayed them. My parents didn't know better, they had told him about the abilities I'd have-and he was suggesting an abortion."

"What!" said Hermione, Harry, and Ron at the same time.

"That's awful!" said Hermione. "Why would he-?"

"The way I figure, he wanted me out of the picture so he wouldn't have to do Voldemort's dirty work. Oh, get over it!" she added as Ron cringed at Voldemort's name. "He tried to convince them I'd be seperate from everyone else and not be happy, or something. But since they refused, he must have then gone and told Voldemort about me."

"So he thought everything would be easier if you weren't born," said Harry, looking disgusted. "He betrayed them, just like he did my parents."

Levina nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if he tried the same tactic on your parents, Harry."

"Seems like something he'd do," said Harry. "But my parents would never do it."

"Yeah-oh no," said Levina, grabbing at her neck. "Hold on, I think I dropped my necklace. I'll meet you guys in the common room."

Levina re-traced her steps and found the shimmering blue necklace on the ground on the path. She hadn't thought about it lately, probably because she hadn't been incredibly mad, but she wondered if it honestly did anything to help. Shivering from the icy wind, she pulled her damp robes more tightly around her shoulders and trembled.

"Cold?"

Levina looked up to see Draco Malfoy standing in front of her, for once not accompanied by the Slytherins.

"Gee, I wonder," said Levina. "What gave you that idea?"

Draco's pale grey eyes narrowed. "I just wanted to give you this." He held out a dark green blanket. Levina stared at it.

"What did you do to it?" Levina demanded. "Drop it in the toilet?"

"Nothing," said Draco, and for once, he looked sincere. Levina stared at him blankly.

"Did you fall down a flight of stairs?" said Levina.

"No," said Draco, rolling his eyes. "Just take it."

"Uh." Levina held out her arms and he placed the blanket in them. "Thanks?"

"Yeah." Draco looked quickly over his shoulder at the other Slytherins. "So...see you in Potions."

And he walked off towards the castle, leaving Levina in a stunned silence.

* * *

**Hey guys! Did you like this chapter? Hate it? Not care? Leave a review!**

**Gosh, I've been so incredibly busy lately! I'm sorry I basically forgot about you guys. I hope all my fans haven't run off.**

**Anyways...**

**Things to come: Potions, Sirius Black (aka Snuffles), Winky, and more.**

**Review!**


	9. What are you playing at, Draco Malfoy?

**Hey guys :)**

**savvygurl101lunaRachel: Yes, she does have a bad temper, doesn't she? And I know, that's what I thought too! I hated how Harry kept snapping at everyone and acting like a jerk. But trust me, Levina'll be a lot less moody. And maybe I'll try and work in part of the sketch, good idea :) As far as Buffy the Vampire, I have honestly never seen it before! Call me crazy (as my penname is), but I don't even really know anything about it. (Sorry to disappoint) But I'll think about the Umbridge thing.**

**Silvermoony77: Thanks! Peter Pettigrew is such a prat, wanting Harry and Levina dead just so he wouldn't have to be a part of Voldemort's plan. As far as Fred, you'll just have to wait and see ;) And thanks, these weeks have been so hard to keep up with! I've had way too much to do, it's driving me insane. Thanks for remaining a loyal fan! P.s I never mentioned it before, but I always liked your penname, it always makes me think of Lupin (Moony) haha. :D**

**Flyingwerecats: Yeah, maybe Draco will finally catch a clue (:**

**Disclaimer: You know what I could go for right now? A Butterbeer...which I do _not _own! So, if I don't own butterbeer, then obviously I don't own the Harry Potter series.**

**Enjoy, as always :D**

* * *

"He hasn't come back to Hogsmeade?" said Ron incredulously.

"It looks like it, doesn't it?" said Hermione.

Levina scanned over Sirius's letter again. "'Bring as much food as you can'. Poor guy must be half-starved."

"Made it so far, though, hasn't he?" said Ron. "And it's not like Hosgmeade is swarming with dementors anymore."

Levina folded up the letter and handed it to Harry before entering double potions in the dungeons.

"What's that you have anyway, Levina?" said Hermione, and before Levina could tuck it away, Hermione pulled out the hunter green blanket Draco had given her from her bag. Hermione stared at it. "Where'd you get this?"

"Malfoy," said Levina, tugging it back. "He gave it to me after the Second task. I figure someone probably threw up on it or something and he didn't want it."

"Hmm," said Hermione. "Maybe he's trying to mess with your head, you know, make you think he did something to it. The psychological approach is always the worst."

"Figures," said Levina, stowing the blanket back in her bag. She hated admitting it, but it was actually quite warm. Maybe she'd use it for Lilypad's litterbox.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing in a huddle outside the classroom door with Pansy Parkinson's gang of Slytherin girls. All of them were looking at Harry and sniggering loudly.

"There they are, there they are!" shrieked Pansy, and Levina noticed she was holding a copy of _Witch Weekly._

"You might find something of interest in there, Granger, Snowpetal!" Pansy said loudly, and she threw the magazine to them. It read:

_Harry Potter's Secret Heartache:_

_A boy like no other, perhaps-yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescense, writes Rita Skeeter. Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found his solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know he would be shortly suffering yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss. _

_Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker, Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affections. Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists he has "never felt this way about any other girl.__However, it might not be Miss Granger's doubtful charms that have caputred these unfortunate boys' interest._

_"She's really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student, "but she'd be well up to making a Love Potion, she's quite brainy. I think that's how she's doing it."_

_Love Potions are, of course, banned from Hogwarts, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. _

_In the meantime, to satisfy the empty space in his heart created by the cunning Miss Granger, Miss Snowpetal has appeared on the scene. A fourth-year student, Miss Snowpetal has a similar past to Harry, and therefore may understand how his heart works. However, being the bitterly cold person she is due to her own suffering, fourteen-year-old Levina Snowpetal steals away Harry's heart, when she herself already has an affection for Mr. Fred Weasley._

_"She and Weasley are really close," says Pansy Parkinson. "He's really poor too, so I wouldn't be surprised if she was supplying him with money; there's no way she could ever attract him on her own, she's really quite ugly."_

_When Miss Snowpetal cannot satisfy her craving with Mr. Weasley, she occupies her time behind his back with Harry, toying with his emotions to fill the hole in her soul created by her parent's tragic passing. In the meantime, Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart on worthier candidates._

For a moment, Levina merely stared at the magazine blankly. Then, she felt a horrible sensation of fury begin to stir in her stomach.

"You-you-" Levina stammered. How had Rita Skeeter known about her and Fred? She wasn't at the Yule Ball, and she wasn't allowed on the grounds.

"I told you," Ron hissed at her and Hermione. "I _told _you not to annoy Rita Skeeter! She's made you two out to be some sort of-scarlet women!"

Hermione stopped looking astonished and snorted with laughter. "_Scarlet women?" _she repeated, shaking with supressed laughter.

"It's what my mum calls them," said Ron, his ears going red.

"If that's the best Rita can do, she's losing her touch," said Hermione, giggling, as she threw the magazine in the empty chair beside her. "What a pile of old rubbish."

Levina stopped shaking with anger; Hermione was right: Why did she care what Rita Skeeter said? She and all her friends knew the truth, so what did it matter? She sat down next to Hermione and grinned, taking out her quill.

All the Slytherins stared at them in astonishment; clearly they were hoping for a greater reaction.

"There's something funny, though," said Hermione ten minutes later, holding her pestle over her scarab beetle bowl. "How could Rita Skeeter have known...?"

"Known what?" said Ron quickly. "You haven't been mixing Love Potions, have you?"

"Don't be stupid," Hermione snapped. "No, it's just...how did she know Viktor asked me to visit him over the summer?"

Hermione blushed scarlet as she said this.

"What?" said Ron, dropping his pestle.

"And how did she know about Fred and I?" said Levina. "Not that it matters," she added hastily as they looked at her. "I mean, because we just went to the ball together, that's all..."

"Viktor asked me after he'd pulled me out of the lake," said Hermione. "After he'd got rid of his shark's head. Madam Pomfrey gave us both blankets and then he sort of pulled me away from the judges and he said, if I wasn't doing anything over the summer, would I like to-"

"And what did you say?" said Ron.

"And he _did _say he'd never felt the same way about anyone else," said Hermione, burning red in the face, "but how could Rita Skeeter have heard him? She wasn't there...or was she? Maybe she _has _got and Invisibility Cloak!"

"Fascinating as your social life is, Miss Granger," said an icy voice behind them, "I must ask you not to discuss it in my class. Ten points from Gryffindor."

Snape had glided over to their desk while they were talking.

Levina glared at him; _Oh, great,_ she thought. _First Rita, now Snape? They should get together._

"Ah...reading magazines under the table as well?" Snape added, snatching up the _Witch Weekly _copy. "A further ten points from Gryffindor...oh but of course...Potter has to keep up with his press cuttings..."

The dungeon rang with the Slytherins' laughter and Levina saw Draco flash his POTTER SUCKS badge from across the room.

"_Harry Potter's secret heartache..._dear, dear, Potter, what's ailing you now? '_A boy like no other, perhaps...'"_

Levina looked at Harry, who was burning bright red and fuming angrily. To make matters worse, Snape didn't stop there; he continued to read the entire thing, pausing only to allow the Slytherins to laugh in between sentences.

Sinking into her seat as Snape read the part about Levina and Fred, Levina hastily reached for the first book she saw and held it up to cover her furiously blushing face.

"How very touching," said Snape. "Well, I think I'd better seperate the four of you, so you can keep your minds on your potions rather than on your tangled love lives. Weasley, you stay here. Miss Granger, over there, beside Miss Parkinson. Potter-that table in front of my desk. Miss Snowpetal, the open seat next to Mr. Malfoy. Move. Now."

"Just because you don't have a love life," Levina muttered under her breath as she got up, gathering up her stuff.

"What was that?" said Snape, but thankfully it appeared he hadn't actually heard what she said.

"Nothing, nothing..." Levina dropped into the seat beside Draco and began mashing her scarab beetles furiously.

"It works better if you hold it like this," said Draco, showing her his blade and demonstrating.

Levina glared at him. "Don't test me, Malfoy."

"No, seriously," said Draco. He chopped up the beetles easily and showed them to her. She eyed him suspiciously.

"Why so nice all of a sudden?"

"I wasn't aware I was being nice," said Draco, resuming the mashing of the beetles.

Levina sighed; on one hand, taking advice from Draco was like drinking ten vials of Skelegrow, but she figured after all the points Gryffindor had lost, she needed to do well on her potion.

"Fine, then. Like this?" said Levina, using the tip of the blade to cut the beetles apart.

"No, dummy," said Draco, earning an irritated look from Levina. "Like this." He took her hand with the knife in his and made her mash the beetles with the side of it. However, it wasn't the fact that he was offering her help that had made her jump then; the second his hand had made contact with hers, she'd felt a shock of sorts. Thankfully, he hadn't noticed her flinch.

"Okay." Levina repeated what he'd done. "Satisfied?"

"Very."

Levina resumed smashing the beetles together, but her mind was elsewhere. Why was he acting so weird? She wondered if he'd walked into a wall or something.

There was a sudden knock on the dungeon door.

"Enter," said Snape.

The dungeon door opened and Karakoff walked inside, twisting his goatee with his fingers as he walked.

"We need to talk," he said abruptly when he'd reached his desk.

Levina perked up her ears at this. For once, she was thankful for her werewolf blood, which gave her incredible hearing abilities.

"I'll talk to you after my lesson, Karakoff," Snape muttered.

"I want to talk to you now, when you can't slip off, Severus. You've been avoiding me."

"After the lesson," Snape snapped.

And after Levina had exited at the end of class, she noticed Harry remaining behind, cleaning armadillo bile off his desk. Later, in the common room, he told them what'd he'd heard, and how Snape was being secretive and avoiding him.

* * *

On the Hogsmeade trip, Harry brought a ton of chicken legs, a loaf of bread, and a flask of pumpkin juice to meet Sirius with. Levina ducked into the Three Broomsticks with a bottle, which she filled with warm butterbeer. They headed off towards the winding lanes she hadn't gone down before, over to the area by the cottages. At the end of the lane, a black shaggy dog sat with a newspaper in its mouth.

"Hi, Sirius," said Levina.

The dog wagged its tail, sniffed Harry's bag once, and led them in a trot over to the rocky foot of the mountains, where they climbed for nearly a half hour before reaching a narrow fissure in the rock to hide in.

Inside was a dimly lit cave, where Buckbeak, the hippogriff from the previous year, sat tethered to a rock.

"Buckbeak!" said Levina happily. She bowed her head low to him and, after regarding her imperiously for a moment, he bent his head to her. Levina stroked his feathery neck and backed up so the others could enter.

Sirius had appeared now, wearing his ragged gray robes; the same ones he had been wearing when he had left Azkaban. His black hair was untidy and matted. He looked very thin.

"Chicken!" he said hoarsley after removing the _Daily Prophets _from his mouth and throwing them down onto the cave floor.

Harry pulled open his bag and handed over the bundle of chicken legs and bread. Levina reached into her own bag and passed him the bottle of butterbeer.

"Thanks," said Sirius, opening it, grabbing a drumstick. He sat down on the cave floor and tore a chunk off hungrily with his teeth. "I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself."

He grinned up at them, but Harry looked reluctant.

"What're you doing here, Sirius?" he said.

"Fulfilling my duty as godfather," said Sirius, gnawing on the chicken bone in a very doglike way. "Don't worry about it, I'm pretending to be a lovable stray."

He was still grinning, but apparently catching the anxiety in their faces, he added more seriously, "I want to be on the spot. Your last letter...well, let's just say things are getting fishier. T've been staling the newspapers when someone throws them out, and I'm not the only one who's getting worried."

He nodded at the newspapers on the floor, which Hermione and Ron picked up, but Levina continued to stroke Buckbeak, staring at Sirius.

"What if they catch you? What if you're seen?" said Harry.

"You four and Dumbledore are the only ones around here who know I'm an Animagus," said Sirius, shrugging.

Levina picked up one of the _Daily Prophets _and scanned it; there was a story about Mr. Crouch being sick lately, and rumours about what people thought. His house seemed deserted and he hadn't been seen in public since November, according to the article.

"They're making it sound like he's dying," said Harry. "But he can't be ill if he managed to get up here..."

"Hmm," said Levina, flipping over the newspaper several times. "Wonder what's up...?"

"My brother's Crouch's personal assistant. He says Crouch is suffering from overwork," Ron informed Sirius.

"Mind you, he _did _look ill last time I saw him up close," said Harry. "The night my name came out of the goblet..."

"Getting his comeuppance for sacking Winky, isn't he?" said Hermione. "Bet he wishes he hadn't done it now-bet he feels the difference now she's not there to look after him."

"Oh, give it a rest already," said Levina, exasperated.

"Hermione's obsessed with house-elves," Ron muttered to Sirius.

"Crouch sacked his elf?" said Sirius, interested.

"Yeah, at the Quidditch cup," said Harry, and he explained the story with as much detail as he could muster.

"Let me get this straight," said Sirius when he'd finished. "You first saw the elf in the Top Box. She was saving Crouch a seat, right?"

"Right," said Harry, Levina, Ron, and Hermione together.

"But Crouch didn't turn up for the match?"

"No," said Harry. "I think he said he'd been too busy."

Sirius paced around the small cave in silence for a moment. "Harry, did you checl your pockets for your wand after you'd left the Top Box?"

"Erm...no, I didn't need to use it before we got to the forest. And then I put my hand in my pocket, and all that was in there were my Omnioculars," said Harry, staring up at Sirius. "Are you saying whoever conjured te Dark Mark stole my wand in the Top Box?"

"It's possible," said Sirius.

"Winky didn't steal that wand!" Hermione insisted.

"Who else was sitting behind you?" said Sirius.

"Loads of people," said Harry. "Some Bulgarian ministers...Cornerlius Fudge...the Malfoys..."

"The Malfoys!" said Ron. "I bet it was Lucius Malfoy!"

Levina rolled her eyes. "I don't think he'd need your wand if he already has his own to do it..."

"Anyone else?" said Sirius.

"No," said Harry.

"Except Ludo Bagman," said Hermione.

"What's he like?" said Sirius.

"He's okay, but he keeps offering me help with the Triwizard Tournament."

"Does he, now?" said Sirius.

"Says he's taken a liking to me," said Harry.

"Sounds suspicious to me," said Levina.

Sirius looked thoughtful. "Hmm."

"We saw him in the forest right before the Dark Mark appeared," Hermione told Sirius.

"Come off it," said Ron. "You think he conjured the Dark Mark?"

"It's more likely he did it than Winky," said Hermione.

"Told you," said Ron, looking meaningfully at Sirius, "told you she's obsessed with house-elves-"

But Sirius held up a hand to silence Ron. "When the Dark Mark had been conjured, and the elf had been discovered holding Harry's wand, what did Crouch do?"

"Went to look in the bushes," said Harry, "but there wasn't anyone else there."

"Of course he'd want to pin it on anyone than his own elf...and then he sacked her?" said Sirius.

"Yes," said Hermione, "he sacked her, just because she hadn't stayed in the tent and let herself get trampled-"

"Hermione, give it a rest!" said Ron.

"She's probably better off without him anyway," said Levina.

"All the absences of Barty Crouch's...he goes to the trouble of making sure his house elf saves him a seat at the Quidditch world Cup, but he doesn't turn up. He works very hard to reinstate the Triwizard Tournament, and then stops coming to that too...It's not like Crouch. If he's ever taken a day off work because of illness before this, I'll eat Buckbeak."

Buckbeak raised his head and looked very concerned.

"D'you know Crouch, then?" said Harry.

"Oh I know Crouch all right. He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban-without a trial."

_"What?" _said Ron, Hermione, and Levina together.

"You're kidding!" said Harry.

"No, I'm not. Crouch used to be the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement, didn't you know?"

Levina suddenly checked her watch. "Oh no, I'm supposed to be meeting Destiny in Hogsmeade right now..."

"Go," said Harry, "we'll fill you in later."

"Okay, don't skimp on any details. Bye, Sirius!"

Levina made her way down back to the village, her mind swarming with things. Crouch sounded like just the type to have put Harry's name in the goblet, but when would he have had the time? Although she'd never tell Hermione, she was sure she had been right. If Winky had done it, then why had she been knocked out?

* * *

By Monday morning, Levina was relieved to see that everyone's bad mood had burnt out; on Sunday, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had gone to see the house-elves and had been kicked out after Hermione tried to convince them to take wages and demand rights.

"What are you waiting for?" said Levina as Hermione looked excitedly up at the post owls.

"I've taken ouy a subscription to the _Daily Prophet. _I'm sick of finding everything out from the Slytherins."

"Good thinking!" said Harry_._

"Maybe we can send it to Sirius when we're done, too," said Levina, cutting up her french toast. "Then he won't have to dig through trash cans anymore."

"All right," said Hermione happily.

Levina had just begun to pour herself pumpkin juice when a large gray owl landed in front of her, closely followed by three barn owls and a tawny. At least six other owls landed next to Hermione, all holding letters.

"What on earth-?" said Hermione, seizing her glass of pumpkin juice as it was knocked over.

"What's with all the letters?" said Levina, taking one of them and opening it. She began to read, then frowned. "Oh, great..."

The letter read, in what appeared to be letters cut and pasted from the _Daily Prophet_:

_You horrible girl. Harry Potter shouldn't have to put up with you. I don't care if your background was like his, at least he puts up with it instead of toying with others' hearts._

"Oh really!" Hermione spluttered. Hers were generally the same, telling her to go back where she came from, and that Harry deserved better. "They're all like it!"

"Well, this is wonderful," said Levina, opening the others. _"'Go drown yourself in the lake, you worthless piece of crap...' 'Isn't one guy good enough for you?'"_

"That's awful!" said Harry.

_"'You deserve to be boiled in frog spawn...'" _Hermione read. Then, she yelped suddenly. "Ouch!"

She had opened the last envelope, and yellowish-green liquid smelling strongly of petrol gushed over her hands, which began to erupt in large yellow boils. Hermione's eyes watered in pain.

"Undiluted bubotuber pus!" said Ron, picking up the envelope and sniffing it.

"Ow!" Levina said suddenly; she dropped the letter she had been reading and winced; the same substance as Hermione's rushed over her hands, and before she could wipe it away, a bunch of painful sores erupted on her hands.

"You two better go see Madame Pomfrey," said Ron, and Hermione got up, looking like she might cry, and ran off.

"It's from the same person," said Levina, looking down at the letter through watering eyes. She got to her feet, and followed where Hermione had gone, out of the Great Hall.

In the corridor, she examined her hands, which were red and irritated. She could feel tears in her eyes. Looking around to make sure there was no one there, she let a few tears fall. Why was this happening to her? All she'd done was defend Hagrid, and now here she stood, in the midle of the hallway, eyes watering and hands burning. She'd get Rita Skeeter back no matter what, for the sake of her, Hermione, Hagrid, and whoever else had been tortured by the witch.

"Levina?"

Levina looked over her shoulder to see Fred approaching. _Oh great, _she thought; if there was ever a person she didn't want to see right then, with her red eyes and disgustingly mutilated hands, it would be Fred.

"Oh-hey-" Levina turned back around to try and hastily wiped her eyes on the arm of her cloak. She attempted to hide her hands within her robes, but Fred was too quick; he caught up next to her and grabbed her arm, holding it up so he could see.

"What happened to your hands?" he asked.

"Rita Skeeter," Levina managed in a small voice.

"Oh," said Fred. Then, after a moment, he added, "I heard about that article."

It took all the resistance Levina could muster not to start bawling. She sucked in a deep breath and nodded. "Right."

"Are your hands okay?"

"No," said Levina automatically without thinking. "I mean-yes. Well, no. But-"

Fred wiped her cheek, where a tear she hadn't caught was lingering. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Why are you apologizing?" said Levina, beginning to walk down the corridor again. "It's not your fault Rita's a hag. She would have found some way to torture me."

Fred laughed. "Well, at least she hasn't gotten to you. Just her fans," he added, looking at her hands.

"Yeah," said Levina, and she halted as they reached the Hospital Wing. "Can you open the door? I'm kind of-"

"Handicapped?" said Fred. "Get it? _Hand_icapped?"

"Funny," said Levina sarcastically, managing a smile.

Fred held the door open for her and waved a quick goodbye.

Hermione was sitting on one of the beds, looking miserable. Levina sat down on the bed across from her.

"You okay?" she asked.

"All right," said Hermione in a very small voice. Her eyes were as red as her hands and she had tears flowing down her cheeks like rivers.

"We'll get that cow back," said Levina encouragingly.

Hermione nodded. "Definetly. If it's the last thing we do, we'll get her back."

* * *

Hate mail continued to arrive for Levina and Hermione over the following week, but taking Hagrid's advice from earlier on the day when they'd gotten their hands mutilated, they tossed them in the trash. Sadly, some of the letters were Howlers and exploded with insults for the whole Great Hall to hear. Even people who hadn't read the article were finding out about the "love triangle" and kept repeatedly asking Levina questions.

By the Easter Holidays, Levina wasn't recieving any more letters, but with Percy's letter was an enclosed package of Easter eggs Mrs. Weasley had made. Harry's and Ron's were the size of dragon eggs and were full of toffee, but Hermione's and Levina's were smaller than chicken eggs.

Hermione's face fell at the sight of it. "Your mum doesn't by any chance read _Witch Weekly, _does she, Ron?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," said Ron, whose mouth was full of toffee. "Gets it for the recipes."

Hermione looked sadly at her tiny egg.

"Great, even your mum hates us," said Levina. "Here, Hermione, have one of these..."

Destiny, who had been sent a huge box of assorted sweets from home, had given Levina half the share.

Levina passed Hermione several large white chocolate eggs filled with caramel, and her spirits were considerably lifted.

"Percy sent a letter back," said Ron, scanning over it.

"What's it say?" said Levina.

"That he hasn't actually seen Mr. Crouch, but he trusts him. And to stop bothering him," he added.

The start of the summer term normally would have meant the last Quidditch match of the season. This year, however, it was the third and final task. In the last week of May, Harry was held back by Professor McGonagall after Transfiguration, to have a preview of the next task.

Levina waved goodbye to him and headed up to the common room with Ron and Hermione, feeling exhausted. Her book bag was on the verge of exploding, having been stuffed with so much work, and Levina could barely fit anything in. At a far table in the corner of the common room, she attempted to put away _The Werewolf Within _and it completely blew up in a flurry of parchment. Her ink bottle was the first thing to burst, sending black goop all over her robes and face.

"I think you need a bigger bag," said Hermione, reaching down to pick up an armful of her books.

"Well, now you know what to get me for my birthday," said Levina, wiping ink off her cheeks. "Anyway, Destiny wanted me to meet her downstairs. You don't have to clean that up, I'll get it when I come back here-"

"No, no, we'll get it," said Hermione, gesturing to Ron.

"Nice job," said Ron, surveying Levina's ink-splattered robes.

"Thanks," said Levina, with equal sarcasm. She left a stack of her stuff on the table and took her book bag with her, careful not to get ink on the book Destiny had lent her.

Levina climbed down the stairs and made her way into the corridor by the fountain outside. She met Destiny halfway down the hall, who began giggling madly at the sight of her.

"I like the new look," she said when they were within hearing distance.

"Very funny," said Levina, still trying to get ink off of her hair. "So what did you want to tell me?"

"Well..." Destiny sat down on one of the benches, looking embarrassed. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Fire away," said Levina, surprised.

"So, you live with your muggle family, right?"

"Yeah," said Levina grimly, "although I don't belive 'family' is the right description for them."

Destiny fiddled with her hands for a moment, looking down. "Well, I live in a rather large manor, and I was wondering...well, if it's all right with my dad, and if you wanted to..."

"What?" said Levina.

"Would you like to come live with me?"

Levina stared at her. For a moment, she thought she was joking and her eyes narrowed.

"Are...are you serious?"

"Of course I am!" said Destiny, looking disappointed at her reaction. "But, if you want to stay with the muggles, I understand-"

"Are you _mad_?" said Levina. "'Course I want to come live with you!"

Destiny's eyes lit up brightly. "Seriously?"

"Seriously!"

"Brilliant!" Destiny gave Levina a bone-crackingly tight embrace. "I'm going to go send my father an owl right now!"

Destiny got to her feet cheerfully and turned around, her glossy black hair flying about her shoulders. She vanished around the corner, leaving Levina behind.

Levina grinned to herself; after four torturous years of living with the muggles, she was finally going to leave. It didn't matter if Destiny lived in a cardboard box-anything was better than listening to Anna making out with her new boyfriends every week.

Crossing back towards the common room, Levina made her way down the corridor, daydreaming, when a pale blonde head came into view; Draco Malfoy stood several feet away, writing something in a notebook while he walked.

_Good timing, _thought Levina. She dug around in her bag and pulled out the green blanket he'd lent her.

"Hey, Malfoy!" she hollered.

Draco looked up, surprised. "What?"

"Here." Levina held out the blanket in her arms. "And uh, thanks," she added awkwardly.

"Keep it," said Draco casually.

Levina frowned, but just as she began to say something, he started smirking.

"What's so funny?" said Levina.

"Did Peeves attack you, or did you do that to yourself?" he sniggered.

For a moment, Levina thought he was taking a stab at her appearance, as usual, but then she remembered the ink splattered on her face and robes.

"Funny," said Levina. She stuffed the blanket back in her bag, now positive he'd done something to it, and headed down the hallway.

"Want to borrow some extra robes?"

Levina halted with her right foot in front of her. She turned slowly to face him.

"Sorry?" she asked.

"Look," said Draco, and he made his way across the hall, closing his notebook, and opened one of the doors easily with _Alohomora._

Levina cautiously followed him, eyeing him suspiciously, and peered in the door. There were stacks of robes on a shelf in the corner of a small room.

"Crabbe and Goyle go through them fast, so it's convenient to know where they keep the spares," said Draco, shrugging.

"Why are you doing this?" Levina demanded.

Draco frowned. "Doing what?"

"So you trip me and jeer at me for four years straight, and then I go and sleep in a lake and suddenly you're all nice to me?" said Levina. "Hermione's right; you're trying to psych me out-"

"That Mudblood doesn't know anything," said Draco, eyes narrowing.

Something in Levina snapped.

"Then why is it she has ten times the scores you have in all your classes?" she snarled. "Did the Slytherins put you up to this? Because it's really not funny."

Draco merely shrugged. "Think whatever you want, Snowpetal. We're still enemies. Nothing's changed."

And he handed her a pair of robes from the storage room and turned away in the other direction, walking away as if nothing had happened.

_Great, _thought Levina. _Now he's messing with my head._

Reluctantly, Levina changed into the new robes in the closet, seething. It was obviously a Slytherin joke; one moment he'd be handing her blankets, the next he was doing his usual obnoxious antics. Levina shook her head.

When she returned to the common room, she found Harry gathered with Hermione and Ron by the fire, explaining what had just happened: Mr. Crouch found in the woods, raving like a lunatic, Krum attacked, and Hagrid nearly strangling Karakoff for insulting Dumbledore.

* * *

Levina could feel herself nodding off during Divination. Professor Trelwaney had a miniature model of a solar system on her desk, which she was studying. Levina put her head on the desk, thinking.

What if Snape had attacked Krum? It didn't make a lot of sense, but he'd been seemingly trying to delay Harry in finding Dumbledore. And what about Moody? Something seemed rather suspicious about him lately, and he seemed to be drinking from his vial of whatever-the-heck was in it more and more often.

The heavy perfume of the room reached Levina and she put her head in her arms. She began to slip away from the room, and a scene began to form, one in which her mother was very young, yelling at someone with glasses who looked rather familiar-

_THUD. _

Levina jolted awake; Harry had slipped right off his seat and was writhing madly. He was yelling in pain, clutching his scar.

"Harry!" Levina got to her feet and ran to his side, shaking him. "Harry, are you okay? What's-"

"He has been posessed!" said Trelwaney, pulling Levina away. "Do not interfere! We must-"

"Are you _mad?" _Levina gasped, pulling out of her grip.

Harry yelled again and began rolling about on the floor, clutching his head in pain.

"Harry!" said Ron, looking both bewildered and terrified.

"Harry? Harry, stay with me, look at me-" Levina shook him again harshly and made him look into her eyes.

He stopped writhing.

"Harry?" said Levina tentatively.

"You all right?" said Ron.

"Of course he isn't!" said Trelwaney, looking excited. "What was it, Potter? A premonition? An apparition? What did you see?"

"Nothing," said Harry, but Levina knew he was lying.

"You were clutching your scar!" said Professor Trelwaney. "You were rolling on the floor, clutching your scar! Come now, Potter, I have experience in these matters!"

Harry looked pale. "I must go to the hospital wing, I think," he said. "Bad headache."

"My dear, you were undoubtedly stimulated by the extraordinary clairvoyant vibrations of my room! If you leave now, you may lose the opprotunity to see further than you have ever-"

"I don't want to see anything except a headache cure," said Harry, and he got to his feet and headed for the trap door, ignoring Trelwaney.

* * *

"Dumbledore reckons You-Know-Who's getting stronger again as well?" Ron whispered.

Levina stared off blankly into the fire, not saying anything. Harry had gone to see Dumbledore and had been "taken back through time", so to speak, to see that Karakoff had gone to trial and that Snape was a death eater. But the worst part of it was, Dumbledore said the Longbottoms had been tortured into insanity, and by the same witch that had tortured and murdered Destiny's mum. She didn't feel quite comfortable with discussing that with Destiny yet.

"And he trusts Snape?" said Ron. "He really trusts Snape, even thought he knows he was a Death Eater?" said Ron.

"Yes," said Harry.

"How could he?" said Levina, watching the flames dancing in the fireplace. "How could he let someone like Snape teach here after knowing he was a death eater?"

"Rita Skeeter," said Hermione.

"What?" said Levina.

"Remember what she said to me in the Three Broomsticks? 'I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl'. This is what she meant, isn't it? She reported his trial, she knew he'd passed information to the Death Eaters. And Winky, too...'Ludo Bagman's a bad wizard.' Mr. Crouch would have been furious he got off, he would have talked about it at home."

"Yeah, but Bagman didn't pass information n purpose, did he?"

Hermione shrugged.

"And Fudge reckons Madame Maxime attacked Crouch?" said Ron, turning back to Harry.

"Yeah," said Harry, "but he's only saying that because Crouch disappeared near the Beauxbatons carriage."

"We never thought of her, did we?" said Ron. "Mind you, she's definetly got giant blood, and she doesn't want to admit it-"

"Of course she doesn't," said Hermione sharply. "Look what happened to Hagrid when Rita found out about his mother. Look at Fudge, jumping to conclusions because she's part giant. Who need that sort of prejudice? I'd probably say I had big bones if I knew that's what I'd get for telling the truth."

"I'd be proud of it," said Levina. "People can say whatever they want about me, I don't care..."

"Why do you still have that?" said Hermione.

"What?" said Levina.

"That blanket."

It look Levina a moment to realize what she meant; she had the blanket from Malfoy wrapped around her.

"I'm cold," said Levina defensively.

"No, I mean why didn't you give it back?" said Hermione.

"He didn't want it," said Levina, shrugging. "I still think he wants to drive me insane. He even showed me where they keep the extra robes when I had ink on me."

"Maybe he's trying to get something," said Ron. "Like, maybe he's hoping you'll do some homework for him in return."

"Probably," said Levina.

"What's that?" said Harry suddenly.

At the window, there was a small tapping sound coming from the outside. Levina got up and went over to open it, and a beautiful brown-feathered owl flew in. It had a white collared neck, white and grey spots, and golden eyes. Around its neck, it wore a collar of pure diamonds and pearls.

"An owl!" said Levina. It fluttered around for a moment, examing them, and settled down, holding out its leg to Levina.

"Who's it from?" said Hermione.

"It's Destiny's," said Levina, reading her fancy signature on the letter as she unfolded it.

"Merlin's beard!" said Hermione with a small gasp

"What?" said Levina.

"That's a Pernambuco Pygmy owl!"

"Bless you," said Ron.

"It's an incredibly endangered species," said Hermione in awe, examining its markings. "They're very, _very _rare. How'd she get one?"

"No idea," said Levina, reading the letter. "Yes! Her family's all right with me staying with them."

Harry stared at her. "You're leaving the muggles?"

"Yeah! Isn't it fantastic?"

Harry tried to manage a smile, but it was weak.

"Er," said Levina, "I could ask her if you could come too-"

"It's fine," said Harry.

"Are you sure you-?"

"It's _fine," _said Harry again.

"Wow," said Hermione. "Look at the diamonds and pearls on her collar! It is a girl, right?"

Levina examined the collar. "Yeah. Her name's Celeste."

"Brilliant," said Ron quietly. He was staring at the fancy jewels around Celeste's neck.

Levina became suddenly awkward, knowing of the Weasley's lack of money. "So...bedtime?"

"Yeah," said Harry, sensing the tension as well.

Levina opened the window and allowed Celeste back out before going up the stairs behind Hermione. When she reached her bed, she dropped down and fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter was a bit short!**

**How'd you like it? Leave a review, there's plenty of chapters for more than one!**

**As usual, sorry for taking so long to post this.**

**Things to come: Rita Skeeter, the third task, and mazes.**

**Review (:**


	10. The return of Lord Voldemort

**Hi guys, I'm so sorry this chapter was like a month late! I went to Harry Potter World-the Butterbeer was amazing! I loved the place. :D**

**Savvygurl101LunaRachel: Haha, thanks. Disclaimers get pretty boring (: And sorry about Draco, it's hard to keep him in character while drawing him and Levina together. Um, I don't think the plan with Harry and Sirius ever fell through, it never really mentioned it in the book. Anyways, thanks.**

**Flyingwerecats: Rita Skeeter deserves to die indeed. Poor Levina and Hermione!**

**Silvermoony77: Yeah, darn those howlers. And thanks, I was hoping to add more Levina/Draco moments. Haha well that's a lot of explanation behind your penname! I just chose mine because my friends call me crazy. Haha (:**

**Disclaimer: AVADA KEDAVRA! ...Just kidding. Why would I kill my loyal fans? Oh, and the killing curse is from Harry Potter, so I don't own it.**

* * *

Exams were slowly killing Levina.

Book after book was dropped into Levina's arms, and every other class was an exam, one after another.

To make matters worse, Draco had stopped playing with her mind and had begun tripping her in the hallway again. Once she even skidded and bowled over four sixth-years.

"I hate you," she muttered to him out of the corner of her mouth every chance she got.

When the day of the third task arrived, Levina could just about feel herself ready to explode from her schoolwork. Exhausted, she trudged to lunch with armfulls of books and, to her surprise, she found that the Weasley family was there.

"What are you lot doing here?" said Levina happily.

"Come to watch the third task," said Bill, shaking her hand. "Good to see you, Levina. Did you get taller?"

"What, since the beginning of the year?" said Levina, sliding into one of the seats.

"Yeah, maybe half an inch."

Hermione was already sitting down with Harry and Ron on the opposite side of the table. Hermione looked sour, having been searching stuff on Rita Skeeter all morning.

"Hello, Hermione, Levina," said Mrs. Weasley stiffly.

"Hello," said Hermione, her smile faltering at the cold expression on her face.

"Hi," said Levina, frowning slightly.

Harry looked between the three of them, then said, "Mrs. Weasley, you didn't believe that rubbish Rita Skeeter wrote in _Witch Weekly, _did you? Because Hermione and Levina were never my girlfriends."

"Oh!" said Mrs. Weasley. "No-of course I didn't!"

But she became considerably warmer towards them after that.

"So, how have you been, Levina?" said Bill, grinning at his mother as she hastily tried to act kinder towards Hermione.

"Good, how about you?"

"Same here. Work's been a little much, but I'll live."

Levina could see over Bill's shoulder, Fleur was watching him with interest. Was she...checking him out? She laughed to herself.

Levina, Hermione, Ron, and Destiny went up to the Owlery before the final task. Destiny folded up a letter for her father back home and passed it to Celeste, who nipped her affectionately before taking off.

"Wasn't Celeste your mum's name?" said Levina as Celeste flapped off across the sky.

"Yes," said Destiny. "I named Celeste after her."

"That's sweet," said Hermione. "How did you get her? They're supposed to be a very rare species-"

"Eric got her for me on my tenth birthday," said Destiny. "He said she reminded him of me, the way she acts sometimes."

"But, how did he get her? Or afford, for that matter?" said Hermione.

"Some street venders in Romania were selling them," said Destiny. "Price wise..." Destiny glanced at Ron nervously, as if afraid to say anything in front of him.

Ron checked his watch. "The task is in ten minutes," he said, looking up at the sky and acting as though he hadn't heard anything Destiny had said.

"We better get going," said Hermione.

"Let me finish my letter," said Levina.

"Who are you writing to?" said Ron.

"Lupin," said Levina. "He was supposed to send me a new book last week...I wonder if he's busy with other stuff? I feel bad about bothering him..."

"Don't," said Hermione, "if you need to contact him, you should."

Levina attatched her letter to Athena and sent her off. "All right, let's go."

By the time they had arrived at the arena around dusk, Harry was looking extremely pale. Levina had tried offering him words of encouragement, but he merely shrugged them off.

"You'll do fine," said Levina.

"Yeah," said Harry, looking off into the distance with an off-look.

He was sent off with the other champions while Levina, Destiny, Hermione, and Ron filed into the stands. The Quidditch field had been magicked so that a huge maze surrounded it, twenty-foot hedges lifting into the sky.

"Well, it's finally here," said Levina, watching as the champions gathered together at the bottom. "The last task."

Hermione was nervously biting her nails and clenching her jaw. Ron looked merely excited.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!" boomed Bagman from beside the champions.

The crowd cheered loudly and Levina had to cover her sensitive canine ears. He read out the points and the champions names one by one, earning applause from the audience.

"So...on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman. "Three-two-one-"

He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried off into the maze.

Levina clapped loudly along with the crowd, standing up to applaud him as he vanished into the hedges, looking frightened.

"Wait, so we can't even see what's happening?" said Ron irritably, standing up to try and see where Harry was.

"Use your Omnioculars," Levina suggested. She took hers out from her bag and adjusted them, but Harry was long gone.

"No use," said Ron.

"Oh, I hope he does okay, I hope he does okay," Hermione whispered, dancing on her toes as she looked anxiously out into the maze.

"Hope won't save someone that pathetic," said a drawling voice behind them.

Draco Malfoy sneered down at them, accompanied by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Well that's the pot calling the kettle black," said Levina.

"What?" said Draco.

"She means you're a hypocrite," said Hermione coldly.

Draco smiled. "Of course _you _would know, mud-"

"Don't even start," Levina warned.

"Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum!" called Bagman, causing all of them to jump.

Fleur gave one last look to her sister and she dashed off into the maze with Krum, her blonde hair vanishing into the green.

"This is going to take a while, I presume," said Hermione, still trying to see over the hedges.

"Yeah," said Ron as he sat down and ate away at a chocolate cauldron.

"Especially since we can't see," said Levina sadly.

"Hey, I have an idea," said Destiny cheerfully, sitting upright. "Want to go see the dragons?"

"Are you insane?" said Levina. "This is the last task!"

"So?" said Destiny. "Nothing's happening anyway. Come on, Levina, don't you want to see them?"

"But we've only just sat down!" said Levina.

Destiny merely shrugged. "We might not get another chance to.":\

"You two need to be careful," said Hermione nervously. "I'm not sure you two should be-"

"Oh let them go, Hermione," said Ron through a mouthful of chocolate. "Nothing interesting's going to happen anyway till the match is over with."

Hermione looked like she might say something, but Destiny grabbed Levina's hand and pulled her down the stairs, towards the exit.

"Where are you two going?" said Fred from a row below them. "The match has barely even begun!"

"Uh, nowhere in particular," said Levina, all too aware of Draco eyeing them suspiciously.

Destiny reached into the top of her shirt and pulled out an emerald-green dragon necklace, casually tapping it with a finger.

"Ah," said Fred, nodding knowingly. Apparently she'd told him.

Destiny led Levina away from the cheering crowd and down to the path, walking with a bit of a skip.

"Where'd you get that?" said Levina enviously, staring at the necklace.

"From Dad on my third birthday," said Destiny. "'Course, I didn't care for jewlery much then...Dad became upset with me because I was more interested in the cardboard box it came in..."

"Sounds like me," said Levina, laughing.

"We need to get used to the dragons anyway," said Destiny, heading for the woods. "I mean, it's not like they're just going to love us."

"Yeah, I suppose," said Levina.

They didn't have to go very far into the woods before the smell of burning wood reached them.

The four dragons were fast alseep, curled up in various cages magicked with a large lock on each, to keep them in. A handsome, tall male with black hair and golden-caramel eyes stood in front of the cages, leaning against them lazily.

"Eric!" squealed Destiny.

The male looked up, and Levina noted that his features were similar to Destiny. He had a scarred face and many slashes along his burned, muscular arms. He appeared to be around his early twenties.

"Hey," said Eric, and Destiny knocked him over with a tight hug.

"Eric, this is my cousin on dad's side, Levina," said Destiny happily. "Remember?"

"Nice to meet you," said Eric, shaking her hand. "You're the one that can speak Draconic, right?"

"That would be me," said Levina. "Are you really going to take all of these to your house?"

"Well, the thing is, we can't keep them all on the same plot of land. The Ministry of Magic's been on my case about the whole thing, so we're going to just have to send them to Romania at times, with Charlie and I," said Eric, shrugging. "Shouldn't you two be at the third task?"

"Nothing's happening," said Destiny. "It's a shame we can't keep them all at the same time. May we see the dragons?"

He folded his muscular arms across his chest. "No."

"Pleaaase?" Destiny begged.

"Just for a bit," Levina promised. "Then we'll go back to the match."

Eric sighed. "Fine. Just a few minutes." He stepped aside and let them get up close to the cages.

The four creatures were stirring now, lazily lifting their heads and yawning.

_"Mm?" _said Huojin, stretching. _"Who's there?"_

_"Me again," _said Levina.

_"Oh good," _said Ilonca, lifting her head and glancing over her massive tail. _"Mind coming a bit closer so I can rip off your head?"_

_"No," _said Eric firmly, shooting Ilonca a glare.

"How much of that did you understand?" said Levina.

"'Rip' and 'head'," said Eric. "I only know some Draconic."

_"Why do you keep bothering us?" _Hefina demanded. _"What do you want?"_

_"I'm sick of being shut up in here," _said Adela, lowering her head. _"What I wouldn't give to stretch my wings."_

_"Well, you're going to go to Romania__-"_

_"What!" _said Hefina angrily. _"What makes you think we want to stay with you?"_

_"The alternative being death, I'd say you don't have much of a choice," _said Levina. _"And besides, you'll be in Romania with the other dragons, you won't have to be actually with me."_

_"Romania?" _said Huojin. _"I always wanted to go there."_

_"You don't even know what it is!" _snarled Adela.

_"Yeah I do! I saw it once!"_

_"You're full of crap-"_

"You two should get back to the tournament," said Eric.

"Will we ever see them?" said Destiny hopefully.

"You've got Ryuu," said Eric. "I don't think you need five dragons on one manor. Now go watch the last task."

Destiny looked upset, but she didn't argue. "Come on then, let's get back."

_"Bye guys," _said Levina, waving to the dragons.

_"Good riddance," _said Ilonca.

When Levina and Destiny had arrived back in the stands, there was some commotion arising.

"What's up?" said Levina.

"Fleur's returned!" said Hermione.

Fleur Delacour was standing in the grass below, holding her head in pain and drinking something Madam Pomfrey was offering her.

"Why, what happened?" said Levina.

"Someone sent up red sparks for her," said Hermione. "We're not sure what exactly happened."

"Hmm," said Destiny. "Wonder if she was attacked?"

"By what?" said Levina.

Destiny shrugged helplessly. "Not the slightest idea. I just hope that Harry's all right, wherever he is..."

Quite some time passed. It wasn't until at least twenty minutes later that Krum was brought back on a magicked stretcher, knocked out cold.

"Two down," said Ron. "Two to go."

"Oh no, oh no," said Hermione again, biting her fingers. "Oh no, oh no..."

"Harry'll be fine," said Levina reassuringly, but at that exact moment, she felt something in her head pound suddenly. She staggered slightly and hit the bench in front of her.

"Levina!" cried Hermione, grabbing her arm. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Levina gasped, "fine...I just-"

Suddenly, she felt a great pain in her mind and there was a flash: Harry, blood running down his arm; Cedric, fallen over on the ground, eyes open and empty; Lord Voldemort himself, laughing terribly.

Levina fainted.

_Levina found herself standing in a misty graveyard, but she couldn't see clearly. Everything was blurry and fogged._

_"Blood of the servant," Wormtail's shaky voice echoed in Levina's head. She jerked around to look over her shoulder, but she couldn't see anyone._

_Harry's voice could be heard, calling Cedric's name._

_There was a blinding green light._

_A body hit the ground._

_"Cedric-" Levina cried out._

_"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken-"_

_Harry's horrible scream made Levina icily cold and shiver._

"No," she whispered, "No! Harry, no! No!"

_Cedric's eyes were open wide, his mouth lopsided in a scream that never reached him._

"No," she gasped. "Cedric-Harry-"

She awoke with a start to find she was lying flat on her back. She was in the grass. Apparently not much time had passed, since she was still at the third task.

"Nice of you to join us," said Ron, grinning. "Can you ever _not _pass out-?"

"Ron-" Levina sat up and snatched the front of his robes with a pale hand. "Ron, he's-he's back, he's-"

"What?" said Ron, confused. "Who's back?"

"Him-he's-Harry-" she gasped.

Hermione's face appeared next to Ron. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Cedric, he's-he's," Levina gulped, a tear leaking out of her eyes.

"What, what?" said Hermione.

"-dead," she finished.

"Dead? Who's dead? Harry?" said Ron, his face pale.

"I-I don't know," said Levina. "But Cedric-"

Suddenly, Harry appeared from thin air, pale and sweating, leaning over the body of-

"Cedric!" gasped Levina again.

"What about him-?" Ron began, but Destiny let out a loud shriek.

"He's dead!" she wailed, pointing.

Cedric's body lay under Harry, who was shaking like mad and refusing to let go. Dumbledore swept past the now-screaming crowd to reach Harry.

"Harry! _Harry!"_

Levina pushed past the judges, knocking Karakoff and Madam Maxime over in her haste to get to his side.

"Harry? Harry, hey!" said Levina, attempting to pry him off Cedric's body. She could feel the tears welling up in her own eyes.

Harry let go of the Cup in his left hand, but his right remained on Cedric's wrist as he looked up, pale and fear-stricken.

"He's back," Harry whispered. "He's back. Voldemort."

_"What?" _said Levina.

"What's going on? What's happened?"

Cornelius Fudge appeared at their side, looking white and appalled.

"My God-Diggory!" he whispered. "Dumbledore-he's dead!"

Levina sank to her knees, hot tears welling up in her eyes.

An uproar of screams and shouts erupted into the air, but Harry remained against Cedric, shaking violently.

"Harry-" said Levina, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "Harry-"

"Harry, let go of him," said Fudge, trying to pry him away. It didn't work.

Levina looked away from the scene and staggered back slightly. Destiny ran next to her and grabbed her shoulders as she swayed back and forth.

"Don't faint again," she pleaded.

"I tend to do that a lot," said Levina breathlessly, her face becoming increasingly pale. "Dead...Cedric..."

More people were pushing and shoving to get to Cedric and Harry. Harry refused to let go of Cedric's body.

"W-why don't we t-take you to th-the hospital wing, L-Levina?" stammered Hermione; her face was blotchy and red and she had sweat gleaming on her forehead.

"Why?" Levina demanded. In answer to her question, she tipped over again and fell onto the grass heavily.

"That's why." Fred was now next to her as well. "I'll take her," he added to Hermione.

"Why are you lot so worried about _me?" _Levina demanded. "Cedric's _dead!"_

"J-just go with him," said Hermione, wiping her eyes with her hands. Tears were leaking out of her eyes.

Fred took Levina by the arm and led her up to the castle, the sounds of the wailing and shrieks fading. They headed down the corridors in silence.

Levina kept her eyes on the ground as she walked. What had happened? Had Voldemort really returned? If so, was she his next target?

She shuddered; Fred squeezed her hand tightly, but she merely shook her head. "He's dead."

"Yeah." Fred wouldn't meet her gaze.

When they reached the Hospital Wing, Levina dropped heavily onto one of the beds, her eyelids drooping. How could she even think about sleep at a time like this?

"I should be down there, helping," said Levina sadly.

"You're not in any condition to," said Fred. "By the way, I know you faint a lot, but what was with the writhing and stuff?"

"I had a vision...Voldemort killed Cedric, he's returned," said Levina, trembling. "Wormtail helped him, he t-took Harry's blood."

Levina put her face in her hands. Fred dropped down onto the bed next to her and wrapped an arm firmly around her shoulders, giving them a light squeeze.

"Hey..." he said, lifting her chin up so she could see his eyes, warm and inviting. "It's all right."

For a moment, Levina almost believed it to be so. But the lie didn't last. "No!" she said abruptly, waving his hand away. "It's not all right! Cedric's d-dead!"

Levina grabbed the first object she saw (A bottle of Skele-Grow) and chucked it across the room, sending shards of glass and liquid across the floor.

The only other person in the room was a first year Ravenclaw boy, but he jumped, terrified, and fled from the room. Fred merely looked at Levina sternly.

"That wasn't-"

"Prudent?" said Levina through tears. "Sensible?" she got to her feet and drew the curtains back so she could look out across the grounds, where Harry was being lifted away from Cedric. "I don't give a crap."

Madam Pomfrey returned to the Wing, looking hassled, with several girls magicked onto stretchers. They were wearing Hufflepueff outfits and Cedric badges, so Levina figured they'd passed out from seeing Cedric.

Madam Pomfrey's face was blotchy and she had tears in her eyes, but she looked moody about having to take all the girls up to the Wing herself.

"Goodness!" Madam Pomfrey had caught notice of the Skele-Grow. She turned and glared at Levina and Fred. "This stuff doesn't grow on trees, you know!"

"Yeah, I figured," muttered Levina through her hands, which had crawled back to cover her face oncemore.

"Did you lose conciousness as well?" said Madam Pomfrey, magicking the girls onto beds across the room.

Levina gritted her teeth. "No, and I want to go back down to-"

"Yes, she did," said Fred. Levina shot him a cold look.

"Here, lie down and take some pain medicine for any headaches," said Madam Pomfrey.

"I'm fine-" Levina insisted.

"You don't want to be down there anyway," said Madam Pomfrey. Her face was grief-stricken. "Please, lay down."

Levina reluctantly slid onto one of the beds. She hated admitting it, but it was soft and comfortable. The pillow was accomodating for her pounding head.

"Leave my patient to rest, please," said Madam Pomfrey to Fred, who shot her a last look before turning away and exiting the room.

Levina's eyelids curtained her eyes away into darkness, and after a moment, she drifted into dreams...or rather, nightmares.

_Voldemort's laughter...Harry's horrible scream...Cedric's pale, dead body, drained of color..._

"No," moaned Levina. She tried to shake away the pain, but her head was burning.

_"Crucio!" _

_Harry's flailing body...blood dotting the grass..._

"Harry," said Levina weakly. She attempted to sit up, but she felt glued to the ground.

_"Imperio!"_

Levina awoke abruptly. She wiped her eyes, which had been leaking silent tears in her sleep, and sat up.

There was commotion; Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Destiny, Hermione, and Ron were grouped around a harrassed-looking Madam Pomfrey.

"For the last time, I don't know where he is!" she said angrily.

"But you must have some idea-" insisted Mrs. Weasley, wiping tears from her red face.

"I don't!"

"Levina!" said Destiny suddenly. She ran over and sat down at the edge of Levina's bed. "A...all right?"

"What does it matter!" said Levina, exasperated. "Harry's the one you should be concerned with, not me!"

Destiny cleared her face of three stray tears that had made their way down her cheeks. "I was just worried."

Suddenly, the door burst open. An incredibly pale Harry stepped inside, accompanied by Dumbledore and a black dog Levina understood to be Sirius.

"Harry! Oh Harry!"

Mrs. Weasley started towards him, but Dumbledore put a hand up.

"Molly," he said, "please listen to me for a moment. Harry has been through a terrible ordeal tonight. He has just had to relive it for me. What he needs now is sleep, and peace, and quiet. If he would like you all to stay, you may do so, but do not question him."

Only then did Levina realize someone else was in one of the empty beds in the hospital wing: Mad-eye moody. His wooden leg and magical eye were sitting on the table next to him.

"What happened to-?" Levina began, but Dumbledore shook his head.

"Later," he said calmly. Then, he turned away and left the Hospital Wing.

"Here's a potion for a dreamless sleep," said Madam Pomfrey, passing a steaming goblet to Harry. "Miss Snowpetal, you best take one, too-"

"I've done too much sleeping!" said Levina angrily. She turned to Harry. "Harry, are you all right?"

"Fine," said Harry. He looked far from fine.

Levina fiddled with her fingers. "Listen, Harry, I'm-"

"I'm fine," said Harry again, more sternly. He drained the goblet and sunk against his pillow, blinking tiredly.

Feeling slightly rejected, Levina turned away and leaned back against her own pillow. Sirius, still in dog form, padded over to her and rested his chin on her leg.

"Hi, Snuffles," said Levina as she wiped a stray cheek off her cheek. She scratched him behind the ears.

Sirius wagged his tail slightly and gave her an encouraging look.

Destiny had a handkerchief out and was messily mopping up her face. Her brilliant blue eyes were filled with sorrow and her black hair was messier than Levina had ever seen.

"He-he'll be f-fine," said Destiny bolsteringly, casting Harry a nervous look.

"Yeah he will," said Levina in agreement, but she couldn't mask her own fear.

"Drink up, drink up, you," said Madam Pomfrey, now looking irritated as she hustled over to Levina and held out a glass of some strange but perfume-smelling drink. "You need your sleep and I won't listen to your excuses."

Levina sighed heavily and drained the glass in one gulp. Sleep came almost instantly, but she awoke even faster.

She had not dreamed, but when she sat up, her head was still pounding. Most of the people had cleared the room, and Sirius, still in dog form, lay curled up next to her bed. Destiny sat in the corner on one of the visitor's chairs, watching Snape as he paced the room with a terrified expression, clearly frightened by his own angry look.

Dumbledore was closing the door, where Madam Pomfrey had just exited. No one was speaking, but when the door had shut tightly, Dumbledore turned around and said, "And now...Sirius, if you could resume your usual form..."

The great black dog got up and in an instant there was a man in his place.

Mrs. Weasley shrieked and leapt backwards. "Sirius Black!"

"Mum, shut up!" Ron yelled. "It's okay!"

"Him!" Snape snarled, staring at Sirius with horror and fury. "What is he doing here?"

"He is here at my invitation," said Dumbledore, "as are you, Severus. I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other."

Levina snorted. _That's likely, _she thought.

Harry had heard her and realized she was awake. "Hey, Levina," he said wearily.

"Hi," said Levina. "What's going on?"

"Don't ask," said Harry.

"I just did," said Levina impatiently, but she refrained from saying anything else.

"You will shake hands. You are on the same side now," said Dumbledore.

Very slowly, although still glaring at each other, Snape and Sirius moved across the room to each other and shook hands very hastily and abruptly.

"Now, I think there may be an explanation in order," said Dumbledore. He gave the two men specific orders and crossed the room to where Levina was sitting.

It took nearly ten minutes to explain every single thing in detail that had occured over the past hours, but by the end of it, Levina understood.

"So...that's the _real _Moody?" said Levina, eyeing Made-eye Moody suspiciously.

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "Now then, I suggest you get some rest-"

"Rest?" demanded Levina. "All I've done is rest!"

"And the more you get, the more awake and alert you shall be later," said Dumbledore. He got up and headed to the door, where he vanished into the hallway.

Destiny lifted herself out of her chair and walked over to Levina, where she sat on the edge of the bed.

"We all wish there was more we could have done to help," said Destiny, as though she knew exactly what Levina was thinking. "But what difference would it have made? Had any of us been there, we also probably would have been killed."

"Why does Voldemort care so much about my abilities?" said Levina, ignoring Destiny's flinch at his name. "I mean, I can change colors of things and talk to dragons. Is that really worth it to him?"

"I suppose so," said Destiny, shaking her head.

"Poor Cho," said Levina, and next to her, Harry winced slightly. "I mean, they _were_ dating..."

"You should talk to her when you can, then," said Destiny. "I'm going to go back to the Beauxbatons carriage...I'll seen you later..."

"Bye," said Levina. She sank into her bed as Destiny left and closed her eyes, sighing. Destiny was right; what could she have done to have prevented Voldemort from coming back? From killing Cedric? All she knew was that the next few weeks would be some of the hardest she'd ever had to witness.

* * *

Mr. Diggory and Mrs. Diggory were the worst of anyone. They sobbed wherever they went, but Levina was glad they never blamed Harry for the incident. In fact, they merely thanked him for bringing his body back.

"He suffered very little," Mrs. Diggory said constantly to make herself and her husband feel better. "It was over fast, he was happy before...before..." She broke down again.

In the evening, they returned to the Gryffindor tower. Hermione and Ron said that in the morning at breakfast Dumbledore had explained everything and had asked them not to pry Harry for information.

People had been purposely avoiding Levina in the hallways when she walked with Harry. They avoided eye contact with her and whispered through cupped hands inaudible words to the common ear, but Levina caught every word of it with her canine hearing.

"...killed Cedric himself, he did-"

"She was in on it..."

"...think they're killers?"

"Hogwarts isn't safe."

Levina did her best to ignore most of the whispers as best as she could. Fred and George popped up around almost every corner, trying to cheer her up, and she found herself talking with Ginny a lot.

She hardly ever got to speak with Destiny, who was sent back with the Beauxbatons students. The only times they spoke were the occasional exchanges of greetings in the halls or on the grounds.

Levina packed up her trunk with a heavy heart; she and Destiny hadn't discussed their plans to stay at her house in weeks, and she was beginning to doubt it would even happen. Lilypad curled up in her carrier obediently and Athena returned with her letter from Lupin, who had encouraging words that didn't do much to aid her sorrow.

At the Last Feast, the Great Hall was decorated with black curtains instead of the usual house colors. Levina herself had dressed in a black outfit with her hair up, and she could see the real Professor Moody at the staff table, looking rather twitchy and nervous. She couldn't blame him; after all, he _had_ been locked in a trunk for quite some time.

"The end," said Dumbledore from the staff table as everyone grew quiet, "of another year."

Dumbledore's eyes lingered on the Hufflepuff's table longest, where all the students were pale and silent.

"There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight," said Dumbledore, "but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here," he gestured to the Hufflepuffs, "enjoying our feast with us. I would like you all to raise your glasses to Cedric Diggory."

Every person in the Hall stood and raised their goblets. "Cedric Diggory," they said together.

Levina caught Cho's eye. She was crying silently in the corner, tears streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't even manage to offer Levina a smille, but rather raised a small hand to wave to her slightly before sitting back down.

"Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff House. He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, and he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him or not. I think you have the right, therefore, to know how it came about."

Levina turned away from Dumbledore, unable to look at him as he spoke his next words.

"Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

A panicked whisper swept the Great Hall. Levina had a sudden urge to run out, away from everyone else, to be away...

"The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this," Dumbledore continued. "It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as an accident or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult to his memory."

Every face looked at Dumbledore now, but Levina could see Draco whispering something to Crabbe and Goyle at the Slytherin table. She forced herself to look away from them.

"There is someone else who must be mentioned in the connection of Cedric's death," said Dumbledore. "I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter."

Levina tried to look Harry in the eye, but he refused to look away from Dumbledore.

"Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort. He risked his own life to return Cedric's body to Hogwarts. He showed the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever expressed in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honor him."

Dumbledore turned gravely to Harry and raised his glass. Levina and the rest of the hall followed in kind. Most of the Slytherins and Draco had not stood, nor had they drunk from their glasses. Levina tried not to burn up at this.

"Every guest in this hall will be welcomed back at any time," said Dumbledore. "I say to you all, once again-in the light of Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united. It is my belief that we are all facing dark and difficult times. Some of you in this hall have already suffered at the hand of Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder. A week ago, a student was taken from our midst.

"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."

* * *

**Sorry for a rather depressing chapter; it couldn't be avoided. How'd you like it? I promise to get the last one up as fast as I can.**

**Things to come: Goodbyes, Destiny's home, and return.**

**Review (:**


	11. Levesque Manor and fairwells

**Hey, guys. It's hard to believe I'm already at the end of Book Four and ready to begin Book Five! I can't wait for part two of the Deathly Hallows to come out.**

**Disclaimer: Pygmy Puffs are awesome! But alas, they are not mine. They are JK Rowling's. So is Harry Potter. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Levina's trunk had been packed; Athena was back in her cage on top of it. She, Ron, Hermione, and Harry crowded the entrance to the hall with the rest of the fourth years for the carriages that would take them back to the Hogsmeade station. It was a beautiful summer day, Levina thought, perfect in honor of Cedric.

"'Arry!"

Fleur was hurrying towards them, accompanied by Destiny. The Beauxbatons carriage was about to take off, so they were running at top speed.

"We will see each uzzer again, I 'ope," said Fleur as she reached them, holding out her hand. "I am 'oping to get a job 'ere, to improve my Eenglish."

"It's very good already," said Ron in a strangled sort of voice. Fleur smiled at him; Hermione scowled.

"Good-bye, 'Arry," said Fleur, turning to leave. "It 'az been a pleasure meeting you! Come, leet uz go, Dezteeny," she added to Destiny.

"I'll meet you back at ze carriage," said Destiny in a thick accent worthy of Fleur, grinning.

Fleur hurried back to the Beauxbatons carriage, waving goodbye to them.

"So," said Destiny to Levina, "I was thinking we could meet up. I don't live close to my school _at all, _so it might take some time for me to get back, but shall I meet you at the train station?"

Levina couldn't mask her excitement. "You mean...you mean I'm seriously going to live with you?"

Destiny looked offended. "Well, of course! Did you think I was joking or something? I'll pick you up when you get off the Hogwarts Express, okay?"

"Okay," said Levina. She hugged Destiny and waved goodbye, watching Destiny rush off towards where Fleur waited for her at the carriage door, her black hair flying behind her.

"Wonder how the Durmstrang students are getting back," said Ron, watching Destiny with a dreamy look as she vanished. "D'you reckon they can steer the ship without Karakoff?"

"Karakoff did not steer," said a gruff voice. "He stayed in his cabin and let us do the vork."

Krum had come to say goodbye to Hermione.

"Could I haff a vord?" he asked her.

"Oh...yes...all right," said Hermione, looking slightly flustered. She fllowed Krum through the crowd out of sight.

"You'd better hurry up!" Ron called after her. "The carriages'll be here in a minute!"

It was a few minutes before they returned, but when they did, Krum made his way over to Harry. "I liked Diggory. He vos alvays polite to me. Alvays. Even though I vos from Durmstrang. With Karakoff," he added, scowling.

"Have you got a new headmaster yet?" said Harry.

Krum shrugged.

"Well, I hope they'll be better than the last one," said Levina.

Krum nodded and shook their hands. He was just turning away from them to return to the ship when Ron shouted after him, "Can I have your autograph?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

...

On the train ride back home, Levina stroked Lilypad's sleek black fur and stared out the window. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. She felt considerably in a better mood than before, excited to see Destiny's house. She wondered where she lived, being rich and all...perhaps she had a large house?

When the lunch trolly came around, Levina bought a sandwich and several candies. She scanned over the _Daily Prophet _for any stories, but all it said was that Harry had won the tournament. Apparently the ministry was keeping quiet about it.

"He'll never keep Rita quiet," said Harry. "Not on a story like this."

"Oh, Rita hasn't written anything at all since the third task," said Hermione in a very odd voice. "In fact, she won't be writing anything for a while, unless she wants me to spill the beans on _her._"

"What do you mean?" said Levina.

"I found out how she was listening in on our private conversations."

"How was she doing it?" said Harry.

"How did you find out?" said Ron.

Hermioned smiled. "Well, you were the one who gave me the idea, Harry."

"Harry?" said Levina. "How?"

"Did I?" said Harry, perplexed.

_"Bugging," _said Hermione."And I don't mean electronic bugging. No, you see...Rita Skeeter-" her voice trembled with triumph, "-is an unregistered Animagus. She can turn-"

Hermione pulled out a small sealed glass jar out of her bag.

"-into a beetle."

"You're kidding," said Ron. "You haven't...she's not..."

"Oh yes she is", said Hermione happily.

Levina peered into the jar, where among a few twigs and leaves, there was a large, fat beetle.

"You're joking," said Levina.

"No, I'm not. I caught her on the windowsill in the hospital wing. Look very closely, and you'll notice the markings around her antennae are exactly like those foul glasses she wears."

"There was a beetle on that statue the night we heard Hagrid telling Madam Maxime about his mum!"

"And Viktor pulled a beetle from my hair after our conversation by the lake."

"I could have sworn I saw a beetle in the corridor after the Yule Ball when Fred and I-" Levina broke off, flustered.

"I'm letting her out when we get back to London. I told her she's got to keep her quill quiet for a whole year. See if she can't break the habit of writing horrible lies about people."

Levina grinned and bit part of a chocolate cauldron. "You're brilliant, Hermione."

The door of the compartment slid open.

"Very clever, Granger," said Draco Malfoy.

_Oh great, _thought Levina.

"What do you want?" said Levina.

"So," said Draco, slowly advancing into the compartment and looking around at them. "You caught some pathetic reporter, and Potter's Dumbledore's favorite boy again. Big deal."

His smirk widened. Crabbe and Goyle leered.

"And you're still a prat," said Levina. "Big deal. What's your point?"

"Trying not to think about it, are we?" said Draco softly, moving closer towards her. "Trying to pretend it hasn't happened?"

"Get out," said Harry.

Levina's hand moved to her wand and she clenched it tightly.

"You've picked the losing side, Potter! I warned you! I told you you ought to choose your company more carefully, remember? When we met on the train, first day at Hogwarts? I told you not to hang around riffraff like this!" He jerked his head at Ron and Hermione. "And you-" he looked Levina in the eye. "I offered you to ditch the gits and join me in my compartment, and-"

"-and I said I prefered to sit with the gits, thanks," said Levina, her eyes narrowing. "And I still do." Draco was being really weird-what was up with him? Sure, he was usually a git, but today...

Draco looked fuming mad, his face growing pink as he glared at her defiance. "Too late now! They'll be the first to go, now the Dark Lord's back! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first! Well-second-Diggory was f-"

It was as though someone had exploded a box of fireworks within the compartment. Levina jumped back, deafened by a series of bangs, and blinked.

Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were all lying unconcious on the floor in the doorway. Levina and the others were on their feet, all with their wands out. They weren't the only ones.

"Thought we'd see that those three were up to," said Fred matter-of-factly, stepping onto Goyle and into the compartment. He had his wand out, and so did George, who was careful to tread on Draco as he followed Fred inside.

"Interesting effect," said George, looking at Crabbe. "Who used the Furnunculus Curse?"

"Me," said Harry.

"Odd," said George lightly. "I used Jelly-Legs. Looks as though those two shouldn't be mixed. He seems to have sprouted tentacles all over his face. Well, let's not leave them here, they don't add much to the decor."

Ron, Harry, and Gerge kicked, rolled, and pushed the three of them out into the corridor, then came back inside and rolled the door shut.

"Exploding Snap, anyone?" said Fred.

Levina cheerfully took the stack of cards and they began a round of it, but her mind was elsewhere. She had officially decided that Fred was merely a friend, a person who had needed someone at the time. A friend no different than Harry or Ron. She dealed the cards and smiled brightly to him.

They were halfway through their fifth game when Harry spoke up, "Who where you blackmailing?"

"Oh," said George darkly, "_That."_

"It doesn't matter," said Fred. "It wasn't anything important. Not now, anyway."

"We've given up," said George, shrugging,

"If you really want to know...it was Ludo Bagman," said Fred, but Levina merely nodded, having already known about it.

Fred and George explained everything they had to Levina, about how he'd given them fake gold and had refused to give them their money back,

"But it was all your savings!" said Ron.

"Tell me about it," said George.

The rest of the ride was pleasant enough, and when they arrived at King's Cross, Hermione and Ron got up and stepped out over Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"Fred-George-wait a moment," said Harry.

The twins turned. Harry pulled open his trunk and held out his Triwizard winnings gold.

"Take it," he said.

"What?" said Fred, looking flabbegasted.

Levina stared at him in surprise. "Harry...?"

"Take it, I don't want it," said Harry again.

"You're mental," said George, pushing it back.

"No, I'm not," said Harry firmly. "You take it, and get inventing. It's for the joke shop."

"He _is _mental," said Fred in an almost awed voice.

"No, I'm not. If you don't take it, I'm throwing it down the drain. I don't want it and don't need it. But I could do with a few laughs. We all could," he added, nodding to Levina. "I've got a feeling we're going to be needing them more than usual before long."

"Harry," said George weakly, "there's got to be a thousand Galleons in here."

"Think if how many Canary Creams that is," said Harry, grinning.

The twins merely stared at him.

"Just don't tell your mum where you got it...although she might not be so keen for you to join the Ministry anymore, come to think of it..."

"Harry," Fred began.

"Take it, or I'll hex you. I know some good ones now. Buy Ron some different dress robes and say they're from you."

And Harry left the compartment before they could say another word.

"You know what this means, right?" said Levina to Fred, who looked stunned. "Now you have enough money to buy me tons of boxes of Coconut Ice."

Fred grinned at her. "Is eight boxes enough?"

"Make it nine," said Levina with a smile.

"Come on then, you, let's go," said Fred. He was just seizing her around the waist to pick her up when she pulled away.

"Wait...I'll meet you guys outside, okay? I have to...get something."

Fred and George shrugged, overcome with happiness as they put away the bag of coins, and exited. Levina grabbed her luggage and peered out of her compartment. When Fred and George were out of sight, she bent down and shook Draco's shoulder roughly.

Draco awoke with a start and his grey eyes opened. He looked up at her and frowned almost instantly.

"SnowWeed-" he began icily.

"Save it," said Levina. "I'm a nice person, so I figured I'd wake you up before the train crew does." She stood up and gathered her luggage into her arms. "Bye, then."

Draco sat up and watched her leave, stunned slightly as she skipped down the corridor and trotted down the steps of the train, where Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George were waiting.

Edmund, Anna, and Ashby were standing together, looking rather annoyed. When Levina reached them, Edmund grunted, "All right, hurry up, we haven't got all day-"

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Levina, pausing to look at them. "Did you think I was going home with you? Terribly sorry to tell you, I will be no longer living with you."

"What's this you're going on about?" said Edmund gruffly. "Go get in the car-"

"Apparently you didn't hear me," said Levina shortly. "I'm. Not going."

"Listen here, you ungrateful brat-" began Ashby angrily, but a voice cut across hers.

"Hello, Levina. Are you all packed and ready to go?"

Destiny stood behind them, holding her trunk and luggage, smiling pleasantly.

"What-why are you-" Edmund spluttered.

"Oh, I thought Levina would have told you sooner," said Destiny. "Levina's going home with me."

"That's right-you'll never have to see me ever again."

Edmund looked utterly confused, and Ashby had a bewildered expression.

"You're leaving?" said Anna.

"Yup. Good riddance to you all," said Levina. And with that, she turned back on her heel and embraced Harry tightly.

"Bye, Levina," said Harry, beaming. "Good luck with your cousin."

"You're the one who needs the luck," said Levina, shooting the Dursleys a dirty look. "I'll miss you."

"Bye!" Hermione grabbed Levina into a hug. "I can't wait to see you next year!"

"See you," said Ron, shaking Levina's hand. He peered over her shoulder and looked at Destiny. "Bye, Destiny," he added.

Destiny gave him, Harry, and Hermione hasty hugs. Then, in front of them all, she pulled George into a quick but passionate kiss. "Goodbye, George!"

George looked flustered but extremely pleased. "'Bye, Destiny. Come visit us, all right?"

"All right!"

Levina gave Fred and George last embraces and waved to them. "See you guys next year!"

Ashby, Edmund, and Anna still looked very bewildered, but they didn't attempt to stop Levina as she ran off with Destiny towards the parking lot.

"You get to see my house!" said Destiny excitedly. She searched along the rows of cars until she found a large black one, which she knocked on the window of.

The window slid down and Eric appeared un the feont seat, looking bored. "Come on, you two. Put your luggage in the trunk."

Levina placed her suitcase in the trunk and climbed into the back seat with Destiny. The car drive took a while, but Levina slept through most of it, exhausted. It wasn't until a while later when they arrived in Wiltshire, England.

They slid tiredly out of their seats and Levina surveyed the area. The Manor was amazingly beautiful, with elaborate gardens, an amazing fountain, iron gates, and large windows. There was a sign in delicate cursive that read "Levesque Manor"

Levina frowned. "Shouldn't it be called 'Snowpetal Manor'?" she asked. "I mean, that's our last name..."

"Well, because of your connection to your familiy," said Destiny casually, "we generally go by my mum's last name. It started out as that when my father and yours had a disagreement; neither of them wanted to have the same last name, so my father went by Levesque instead. Then, of course, after what happened to your parents...well, it just seemed safer to not have as much of a connection to your name."

Levina nodded in understandment. "Your house is gorgeous, by the way..."

"Thanks!" said Destiny. "Here, let me get your luggage, and we'll take it upstairs to my room..."

As Levina gazed around the area, something suddenly caught her eye. The homes lining the area were all very wealthy and high-class looking, but something about the home next door made Levina uneasy.

_Why does it seem familiar? _she wondered. Something about it seemed to speak to her, but she wasn't sure what.

"Oh, you don't want to meet the neighbors," said Destiny casually, lifting Celeste's cage out of the car. "Most of them are quite rude...Mr. Malfoy is always getting into disputes with dad-"

Levina stopped dead in her tracks and dropped her suitcase with a loud _Thunk!_

"Did I say something wrong?" said Destiny curiously. "You dropped your su-"

"Did you say 'Malfoy'?" said Levina quietly.

"Yes," said Destiny, clearly not understanding Levina's dismay at the situation. "He lives in that house right there, the one you were staring at. It's called Malfoy Manor, they're a rude bunch of-"

"Destiny," said Levina in a very soft voice, "what is their son's name?"

"Their son?" said Destiny. "Who cares about Draco? He's such a-"

"Draco!" groaned Levina in horror. "Destiny, why didn't you say something?"

Destiny looked confused. "What?"

"I thought you said you'd never met him until you saw him at the First Task!" she groaned.

"I hadn't met him," said Destiny. "I had seen him before, but we never actually met formally or anything..."

"Why didn't you tell me he was your next door neighbor?" said Levina.

"You never asked," said Destiny.

Levina hit her head on her suitcase. _Draco _was her neighbor? How could _Draco _be her neighbor? She slumped down onto the ground. Destiny had to be pulling her leg. She had to be!

"Oh, there they are now," said Destiny, pointing towards Malfoy Manor.

Levina turned ever-so-slowly and watched as a fancy black car pulled up in front of the mansion. A tall blonde woman Levina knew to be Draco's mum stepped out, followed by none other than Draco himself. He still had hex scars on his face and looked rather bitter, his grey eyes narrowed.

"Damn it, Destiny!" Levina snarled. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Destiny looked upset. "I'm sorry, Levina! I didn't know-I mean, it's not like we see each other much. Dad's an auror, so he-"

"Your dad's an Auror?" said Levina curiously. "Really?"

"Uh-huh," said Destiny. "He was a late one, like Nymphadora-"

"Who?" said Levina.

"Another auror," said Destiny. "Oh, I think they've spotted us..."

Levina jerked her head back around and indeed, Draco was looking directly where they were standing.

"No need to start anything on your first day here," said Destiny hurriedly. "Here, grab your luggage, let's go inside..."

Levina entered in through the brilliant gates and headed up the steps and into the house. Inside, there was a magnificent carpet on the ground, beautiful statues and paintings on the walls, and colorful flowers in pots on desks. A large moving portrait of a young Destiny with her mother and father hung on the wall to the right.

Her mother was beautiful; she had the same dazzling blue eyes and dark hair, and her features were very fair.

"Here, up the stairs on your right," said Destiny. "We have a few extra rooms, so you can have one of them..."

Levina examined the art along the way as she climbed the tall stairs and made her way into the upstairs hallway. There were many large windows and dragon sculptures along it, and pictures of family hung on the walls. At the very end of the hall on the right, there was a tall door with several signs on it, one which read, "Destiny Snowpetal."

"Here, before you figure out your room, you can come in mine," said Destiny. She unlocked the room with a key and pushed it open.

Levina gasped.

Her room was beyond beautiful-the walls were a brilliant blue color that changed to different hues every-so-often. Her bed was large with vibrant colors and she had a dragon and dolphin plush on it. Her dresser was white with a pouf in front of it and it had a large mirror with moving pictures and artwork on it. A jewelery box lay on it, filled to the brim with assorted colors.

There was a balcony looking out to the front yard with delicate curtains hanging over it, where a table and several chairs sat with a tray of pastries on it. The closet in the corner of her room was a walk-in with different outfits lining the walls and shoes covering the bins on the bottom.

The ceiling was much like the one in the Great Hall, opening to an evening sky.

What caught Levina's attention most, however, was a soft blue clam the size of a large pillow sitting on the desk in the corner. Destiny had gone over to it and was carrying it over to her.

"My mum gave this to me when I was really young," said Destiny. "Watch what it does-it's really cool."

Destiny unclipped it and it burst to life. Various colored bubbles emitted from it and it lit up the room with an amazing but peaceful glow. But what was most amazing was a beautiful melody began to play, much like the creatures had sung in the golden egg in the second task. Three beautiful spirits colored blue, green, and purple seemed to swim out of the clam and drift among the room, singing the amazing song.

"Isn't it great?" said Destiny happily. "It's been passed down in our family for years; it used to help me sleep when I was little."

"It's brilliant," said Levina, catching one of the bubbles in her hands. "I'm noticing a theme here. I take it you like water?"

Destiny looked slightly uncomfortable and she closed the clam shut with a loud _SNAP! _The spirits vanished and the last bubbles popped.

"Yes," she answered. "Here, let me show you your room..."

Levina followed her down the hallway to the left, where she entered a second room. It was fairly empty but was crafted the same way as Destiny's, with similar wall colors. Her bed was soft and felt like a cloud, and there was a lot of space. The only bad thing about it was that the window and balcony looked out to Malfoy Manor.

"You can put your luggage in the closet," said Destiny.

There was a sudden call and a slam of a door downstairs.

"Oh! My dad's home," said Destiny.

Levina felt a whirl of excitement. She was about to meet her _real _Uncle, the brother of her father, perhaps the closest relative to him.

The pair ran back downstairs, where a tall man was taking off his jacket. He had dark black hair like Destiny, but there was no mistaking the resemblence he had to Levina's father. He had the same dark eyes and facial features, but his hair was longer than her father's and he had features similar to Destiny.

"Salut Destiny," he greeted. "Vous etes de retour. Comment etait l'ecole?"

He hugged Destiny and messed up her hair playfully, placing his suitcase on the ground.

"C'etait genial," said Destiny in a thick french accent. She then pointed at Levina. "Papa, c'est Levina."

Her uncle turned and caught sight of Levina. "Le fils de mon frere?"

"Oui," said Destiny.

"So, you're my niece." The man grinned. "You look just like your parents...eyes like your father, face like your mother. I'm Nicholas Snowpetal, by the way," he added.

"I'm Levina Snowpetal," said Levina, trying to cover her excitement. "You're my uncle."

"Right you are. I'm so glad to have met you...Destiny told me all about you." He frowned. "You look so much like Rick."

"You do too," said Levina, looking him up and down in amazement.

Uncle Nicholas laughed. "Ha! Boy, have I heard that enough times in my life...we used to go to school together, you know."

"Yeah," said Levina breathlessly.

"He was a great man, your father...loyal, brave, and...stupid," he added. "He was so reckless in school, I hated being seen around him. He always hung out with that Potter boy."

"His son is my best friend," said Levina. "Harry Potter."

"The Boy who lived," said Uncle Nicholas, nodding. "You can call me Uncle Nick, by the way." He held out his hand and shook Levina's. "Where's that lazy bum-of-a-nephew gone to? He needs to help me make dinner..."

"Eric's out back with Ryuu," said Destiny. "Would you like to meet him, Levina?"

"Sure," said Levina.

Uncle Nick headed into the kitchen and vanished around the corner as they headed to the back door. They went outside, where several enchanted brooms hung in the air by the patio. There were various plants growing and there was a large fountain with a mermaid statue in it.

_"Is Destiny home? Is that her?" _an excited voice rumbled nearby. _"Is she here?"_

Levina swallowed hard and peered around the corner of the porch.

A huge, red-scaled dragon with large golden eyes stood puffing clouds of smoke as it paced across the grass. It was so large it was almost frightening, and Levina took a step back.

_"She's home, yeah," _said Eric in a strangled voice of draconic. Levina wondered how long he must have studied the language.

"Hi, Ryuu!" Destiny squealed. Levina watched open-mouthed as she tore across the lawn and ran straight over to the mighty beast. She hugged its massive head in her small arms.

If a dragon could look happy, this one certainly did. Ryuu's massive tail waved back and forth and nearly sliced Eric, who was re-filling a thing of water.

"Hey!" said Eric angrily. "Watch it!"

Ryuu suddenly paused. He sniffed the air once and his golden eyes grew dark. _"There's an intruder here. I can smell it."_

Levina stood frozen in fear as Ryuu turned his massive head to look Levina right in the eye.

_"Human!" _Ryuu snarled. _"It's a human, come to steal something of yours!"_

_"No, no!" _Levina insisted. _"I'm Destiny's cousin; I'm a friend, I'm not here to steal anything!"_

Ryuu let out an enormous breath of fire and Levina had to run back to prevent herself from being scorched.

"No, Ryuu! Don't!" said Destiny. "Don't hurt her!"

_"No, Ryuu! Calm down!" _said Eric firmly. He ran over to Ryuu and put up his hands. _"Whoa, there."_

Eric turned to Destiny. "Destiny!" he said angrily. "You can't just bring her out here like this. He _is_ a dragon, you know, and they do in fact have natural instincts."

Ryuu's tail waved back and forth dangerously, and Levina noticed he had a chain around his neck connecting him to a post.

"He'll warm up to you," said Eric. "In the meantime, why don't you two go inside? Dinner should be ready soon."

Levina ate a meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and corn. It was delicious and she felt like she was back at the Weasley's house, chatting with Ron and Fred and George. She wondered if Charlie had ever been to their house or if Eric had been to theirs.

After dinner, Levina curled up in her new room on the bed, where Lilypad lay next to her and Athena sat in the corner, in her cage. She wondered how harry was getting on with the muggles, and felt slightly guilty. She turned off the lights and pulled the covers up to her chin.

Well, at least things couldn't get any worse next year, she thought. _I mean, what could happen?_

* * *

**Finally! This book took me a while to finish, but I'm done. Sorry most of this chapter was Levina's home-life, but some things had to be introduced and explained. Next year it's back to Hogwarts with the usual characters.**

**This is the conversation between Destiny and her father in french:**

**"Hello, Destiny. You're back. How was school?"**

**"It was brilliant. Dad, this is Levina."**

**"The son of my brother?**

**"Yes."**

**See you guys in Book Five (:**


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